Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

• Matthew 5:22

But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

• Luke 12:5

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.  Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

• Revelation 20:14-15

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

• Philippians 4:8

“ ‘Let’s strive to make more progress in self-knowledge. ln my opinion we shall never completely know ourselves if we don’t strive to know God. By gazing at his grandeur, we get in touch with our own lowliness; by looking at his purity, we shall see our own filth; by pondering his humility, we shall see how far we are from being humble.’ (Interior Castle 1.2.9).”

• Tony Lane, A Concise History of Christian Thought

Teresa of Avila or Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada (1515-1582) was a Carmelite nun and reformer in the Counter-Reformation.  She reformed the Carmelite Order for both women and men.  Through mysticism, she endeavored to better know God.

St. Teresa of Avila, whether through mysticism or just understanding the grandeur of God, saw how awesome God was and how unlike God we are in key areas.  Unless we can go to God humbly, we will be unable to see how untouchable God’s holiness is.

Once that tower of pride falls, the other two can easily be seen.  Gazing at His grandeur, how can we compare?  Gazing at His purity, our slightest mar is clearly visible, along with the major flaws we try to ignore.

But, whether mystic or not, even for the true Christian, it sometimes takes a lot of prayer to reach that knowledge.  It takes a lot of Bible study to learn just how awesome God is.  And looking at God’s infinity in one area or another can reveal how we could never measure up.

As our telescopes dig deeper into the universe, we realize how it will take many lifetimes just to adequately explore our own galaxy, but there are so many more out there and God created it all.  As our microscopes see further into something that Darwin thought was simple, a single cell organism, it boggles the mind how so many machines and parts are necessary for life to occur even at that “simple” level.  And as we discover ourselves, made in God’s image, we see someone who has a purpose to love God and enjoy Him forever.

And to think that God loves us and to those who are saved, He calls us His children.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.