From my old blog . . . 02.14.06

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Right now, I am working through some books by N T Wright (if you are one of my close friends, you already know this. If not, stick around.). I just finished What Saint Paul Really Said and The Last Word. Great books! Highly recommended. I am continuing his book The Resurrection of the Son of God (very thick and dense book) and the small Following Jesus. I want to get his latest book on Paul, Paul: Fresh Perspectives. All of these books have been challenging and enlightening. They have been crucial in shaping (or rather, reshaping) my faith. Oh, I'm also reading books from his '...for Everyone' series. These are little books on the New Testament. I currently have three -- Luke, Romans Part 1 (1-8), and Paul: The Prison Letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon). Just a couple pages left in the latter book. He really hit on something that I find intriguing. In is letter to Philemon, which is about Philemon's slave Onesimus (Own-ee-si-mus), he states that even though Paul doesn't mention the gospel he applies it. That is, Paul was reconciling Philemon and Onesimus. This, Wright stated, is the application of the gospel, the 'gospel of reconciliation'. The cross is a bridge that connects the gap between god and god's creation. We have all heard this before if we have ever spent much time in church. But, he adds that the cross bridges the gap between people. I got the picture of the vertical part of the cross bridging the gap between god and creation and the horizontal part bridging the gap between people and creation. I had never thought of it like that before. In other words, Philemon is a letter about the application of the kingdom of god! How it plays out in the real world! Wow. Amazing.

Anyway, that is the first post.

May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.

OD

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