Good but not quite there

Vulnerable in a hostile world

Spirituality Photos

Students were asked to pick a photo that represented them spiritually. The pic of the plant in the desert represents a student sense of being vulnerable in a hostile environment. The pic of the football players trying to mark the ball represents the student’s frustration of not being quite able to achieve his goals “Close but not close enough.” Another student chose the building on top of the clouds to represent her sense of being on top of the world. The pic of the many different train tracks represented a students feeling of spiritual confusion. The farmer feeding the sheep represents spiritual work. The person sun baking represents a feeling of being spiritually exposed and naked. The people in the train was the pic I chose to represent that I am on a spiritual journey.

On top of the world

Spiritually exposed/naked

Spiritual work

Spiritual confusion

Spiritual Journey

 What we believe about God

Since I missed the last two weeks I thought I would cut to the chase. I asked them whether I could ask them a personal question which they did not have to answer. I asked them to share their own personal belief about God. Everyone was happy to share so here it is.

One person did not believe in God. One person was not sure but did believe in God. Another person believed in a God but also that there were other gods. They also did not believe that God created Adam and Eve but that we are descendants of apes. All the other students expressed a belief in God being the Father of Jesus Christ. Steve suggested that the Christian God was the best way of explaining the world and the only way of having a real purpose in the world. Without God people don’t really have a significant purpose outside of their own survival. I asked each student where they got their knowledge from. All of them seemed to go to Church about twice a year and had been taught in RE.

The Challenge to go further

My next challenge was for them to consider this. If they believe in a God who had at least some part in making the world then wouldn’t be a good idea to find out more about God? There was blankness in their expression. To highlight the importance of finding out more about God I explained that God wanted to have a personal relationship with them.

Dysfunctional families

Imagine if they went home and never spoke to their parents. They agreed that this would be dysfunctional. Parents want to have a relationship with their children. It’s the same with God; he wants a relationship with his children. So how can they do that with God? One student suggested that praying to God would be the way to talk to God. But how do you listen to God? One student suggested that God might communicate through signs. I suggested that God communicates via a letter he wrote to mankind, this letter is called the Bible. To have a relationship with God then you need to find out about him and you can do this by reading the Bible. In summary talk (pray) to God and read his letter (Bible).