Stuff 'n' Such

It's been a couple of days since I last posted. There's much happening here at Soapy Villa.

I've known this for over a week and suspected it well before, but for the first time in this century, possibly in 2 decades or more, my weight is under 300 pounds. And, thankfully, well under 300. So some clothing items that had migrated to corners of my closet and dresser drawers have reemerged to regular usage, and I've even done some clothes shopping (BTW, my beloved wife is having "problems" of similar kind and magnitude).

I've also been preparing for this week's home group. I like teaching, but that isn't really the focus of our church's home groups. The big focus - rightly so - is on "encouraging each other" through fellowship. It is this kind of setting and ministry environment that Christians can discover, develop and exercise the spiritual gifts God has given them. Still, there is preparation to do.

The latter has brought to the fore for me the tension between knowledge and walking. There's a lot regarding Christianity and the scriptures that one can know. And, strictly speaking, one need not be a believer to know spiritual "stuff". Looked at another way, the requirements to be a believer are not high - acknowledge God, believe one has acted wrongly in God's eyes, understand God provided reconciliation and forgiveness through Jesus, and put one's faith and trust in what Jesus did. On the other hand, learning to live and actually living the Christian life is a lifetime endeavor. The bottom line is that knowledge is important and good, but the critical thing is how much of what one knows one is living.