Hearing voices

Andree Seu Peterson writes a column regularly in World magazine.  Her column appears very close to the last page of the magazine and she always leaves me challenged and wanting more.  In the February 23rd issue she wrote a column entitled The Existential Life in which she recalls being enamored as a young woman by the idea that "existence precedes essence", an idea put forward by a guy named Camus.  (Never heard of him, to be honest.)  

Camus' idea was that a person has no identity but the one he (or she) creates at the moment, and no rules but the rule of this moment's impulse.  The bottom line was that the only authentic living is the moment-by-moment kind.  Mrs. Peterson runs with this idea and draws some conclusions of her own.

Moment-by-moment living requires listening to the voices around us and the voices we listen to have a big part in determining who we are and who we are becoming.  She, the author, remembers a particular trip to the market years ago during which the entire time of her drive was spent "nursing old grievances, coveting her neighbor's gifts, hatching manipulative comebacks and suffering her soul to be gnawed by some human's opinion of her."  The fruit of that moment-by-moment living wasn't particularly attractive. She has since embraced Christianity and has revisited Camus' idea through the grid of her beliefs.  

She observes how Jesus did, indeed, live moment-by-moment, being completely in tune with His Father in heaven and allowing Himself to be ruled accordingly.  He constantly listened to His Father's voice and His life exemplified truly authentic living.

Mrs. Peterson wisely points out that our biggest battle is in our thought life.  "In a sense there is no other life than the thought life.  The renewal of the mind effects transformation-not abstractly, but in the conscious dimension.  It involves our cooperation and is not a passive work of God apart from that cooperation."-Andree Seu Peterson.

I can't be Jesus but I can listen to His voice and hopefully come closer and closer to being a reflection of Him here on earth during my lifetime as I live moment-by-moment.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will"-Romans 12:2 (NIV).

"In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."-Proverbs 3:6 (NIV).

On the health front:

Today will bring a blood test to see what awaits me in the realm of what needs to be adjusted.

Until then I am adopting an "Ignorance is bliss" mentality.