now we see in part, then we shall see in full...

had another very fruitful discussion with my cell group yesterday. yeah... i came away with a headache from having to juggle so many thoughts at once. but nonetheless, it was a really good time of sharing and i feel like God is really causing me to question everything i believe, and to bring about further conviction about the things i believe in. it's like causing me to be convicted of less things, but more convicted about those things that i'm convicted about... ya know what i mean? =b heh heh

anyway all this search for certainty has led me to see just how fragile our faith is. and how tenuous our rope that we cling on to. i've accepted so SO many things from young - unquestioningly - and only now am i really beginning to examine many of these 'truths' for myself. much of this searching is due to the IBS course that i just went through, that really made me want to test and approve my interpretation of God's Word - not just take everything at face value.

before cell yesterday, i did a short personal study of Romans 8:28-30. and it was really cool to use the online concordance for the first time! but even as i now have the skills to use all these tools, ironically, it only shows me how little we do know. every word has so many shades of meaning or possible meanings and interpretations, and yet so often i have not realised that in my daily reading. (these different meanings are due to the fact that the original Scriptures were written in greek and hebrew and translated to english much later. it's like... du2 shu1 can mean both reading book or studying book when translated in English. it's only by context that we kind of know what meaning is being used in each case. but what if every single word in that context is also subject to that same multiple shade of meaning? heh heh)

so anyway... it really is only by faith that we can believe and be convicted by the things that we read. and at the same time, we have the responsibility to handle the Word of God correctly.

ANYWAY... i learnt a lot from that personal study time.

one of the most important things i learnt is that the word "good' in verse 28 refers to good "nature" of an object/event. there is another meaning of "good", which refers to the good of a "product" - eg. grades, success, results - but that is not the definition invoked here. so we shouldn't use this verse to claim God's blessing of us in the tangible means that our society views as good, such as wealth, health and happiness.

i mean, i guess many people already know that, but it helps to know that this meaning can be traced back to the original meaning intended by the author =)