Meditation Paper

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Biola University *

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105

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Religion

Date

Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by HighnessGoldfishPerson1001

Meditation Paper How specifically did these passages help to change my internal soundtrack (i.e., What old, false thought patterns were challenged by these inspired texts, and what specific scriptural truths will I now replace them with)? I spent my first few sessions of meditation focusing on the entirety of John 1 so I am going to have to shorten my original plan for this assignment. John 1 is an interesting chapter in Bible and though I do not want to compare, I find myself wanting to read it once in a while. I did a paper for my Bible class in 10 th grade on John 1 so I was familiar with it. After multiple readings though, I believe I have ended with more questions than insights. Particularly in verse 21, which is outside the required reading but caught my eye, where the priests and Levites ask John if he is the Christ. He rejects their claims until they ask him if he is the Prophet. Who are they speaking of? When I did my assignment a few years ago I thought they were speaking of the prophets like Moses and Elijah, but now every time I read it I feel like I was wrong. Especially since they used “the Prophet” and not just “a Prophet”. I also cannot comprehend the first verse, even after all these years. The primary insight I gained was the theme of grace. John specifies grace multiple times throughout this chapter. In verse 12 he writes about how all children of God are born of God and not from the will of man. Verse 16 he writes what John the Baptist said that we have received “grace upon grace” from the fullness of Christ. And, while this might be a wrong interpretation, I believe verse 3 emphasizes grace again. John writes about how everything was

made through the Word and without him nothing was made. This was speaking about the creation of the universe, but I cannot restrict myself from interpreting it as an emphasis of grace every time. 1 Corinthians 15 also had elements of grace. As how the grace of God redeemed Paul from persecuting the church of God to becoming one of its biggest fighters. I think this can also be interpreted about how the grace of God becomes our energy to work, as it did to work. But I believe that the main message of the first 18 verses is that Christ rising from the dead is the most important message we preach. Our faith is “futile” if that does not happen. I remember watching the debate held at Biola a few years ago, as an assignment for this class, and I remember Dr. Craig saying that maybe the way we came to be does not matter as much. Maybe we evolved or maybe the universe began by the big bang. The most important message is Christ risen from the dead. And that is something I should focus on more when speaking to atheists. How do the insights of these passages impact my relationships, my ministry, and my plans for the future? I believe that John 1 can help me in my ministry as I cannot take Jesus lightly. The way John the Baptist and John himself spoke of and described Christ was beautiful but above all it was powerful and spoke to His might and glory. Do I take Christ that way? I have noticed myself noticing people when they swear “Jesus Christ!” and it does not sit right. I want to emphasize repeadtly that we cannot take our religion and our God lightly. And I hope to reflect that in my ministry.

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