I think Barrs is trying to get his readers to understand that there is one God. There is one God who created all of us, and there is one God that will always be there for us. There is one God that we can place our trust in, and only one God that we will always be able to count on. I think he is also saying that there is a better place that we belong. This world is evil and broken, but there is a much greater place that we belong. There is somewhere else that we are going, and that should give us hope to live well here on this earth. I also think he is trying to get us to understand that there is a reason for all the brokenness in the world. God did not just decide one day that he wanted to be mean, and therefore go crazy and make people turn against each other. The brokenness, the pain, and the hurt are all repercussions of the sin that began back in Genesis. But even through the bad in the world, we have something to hope in; we should place our hope in that one God and that one love. But the road to Christ is NOT easy. And I think that is the first thing we have to understand when trying to follow Jesus. We have to understand that it is not meant to be easy. My volleyball coach used to tell me "If it were easy, everyone would do it." And I think that has never been more true than it is in Christianity. People steer away from religion when things get tough, and people try to find fulfillment somewhere else. So I think Barrs wants us to realize that if we want to get somewhere, it is going to require sacrifice and trust the entire way.
I really enjoyed the part when Barrs talked about the brokenness in our world. I think so often we get distracted with the bad, that we forget to remember the good.
Barrs writes "All over the world there is a longing for this brokenness to be set right, and there is the hope for a redeemer." Man I really love that sentence. My parents have a lot of talks with me
about going downtown and staying safe. I feel like I think a little bit like a kid when it comes to my safety, and sometimes it scares me. But sometimes I think that it is just me looking for the best in the world. When I go out of town and meet new people (on college visits and stuff) and people find out that I am from Memphis, usually there is a little bit of shock in their eyes as Memphis seems to be a city known for crime. However, I do not think of Memphis like that. I think of Memphis as my home. I am not afraid to go downtown (and my parents are not either, they are just trying to keep me safe). I know that was a little off topic, but I think that shows my hope in God. I believe God will protect me and keep me safe, and while there is brokenness in this world, I still believe there is good. And I still believe we should look for the good in everything.
I really enjoyed the part when Barrs talked about the brokenness in our world. I think so often we get distracted with the bad, that we forget to remember the good.
Barrs writes "All over the world there is a longing for this brokenness to be set right, and there is the hope for a redeemer." Man I really love that sentence. My parents have a lot of talks with me
about going downtown and staying safe. I feel like I think a little bit like a kid when it comes to my safety, and sometimes it scares me. But sometimes I think that it is just me looking for the best in the world. When I go out of town and meet new people (on college visits and stuff) and people find out that I am from Memphis, usually there is a little bit of shock in their eyes as Memphis seems to be a city known for crime. However, I do not think of Memphis like that. I think of Memphis as my home. I am not afraid to go downtown (and my parents are not either, they are just trying to keep me safe). I know that was a little off topic, but I think that shows my hope in God. I believe God will protect me and keep me safe, and while there is brokenness in this world, I still believe there is good. And I still believe we should look for the good in everything.