The following is vital, or so it seems to me, relative to learning. Through this perception I have arrived at an understanding of the paradoxes of learning, and the application of whatever becomes a part of the information that I gain. A base for it all is to cultivate an integrated life in the context of natural and supernatural information. I rest the natural in what I gain from nature, best communicated in a scientific procedure that seeks facts and makes conclusions based on sound information. I rest the supernatural in what I gain from revelation which, in faith, is best found in Scripture. Scripture includes information about the divine, which also includes society and resources far more extensive than what may be found in nature. So extensive is the difference and context from nature that some persons simply cannot accept that it exists, or that, if it does, we are too remote from it to include it in our human context. Even those accepting God and a divine kingdom in their lives have so disagreed that they have engaged warfare, with its killing fields, in anger over differences about faith issues. Even faith persons can contradict God.
God, for his own reasons, permits his earth creation to function on its own in what we term, common grace. For the population preferring to function only in the context of nature, God involves himself in common grace. Having created mankind and located specie on earth’s planet he will not abandon those human beings, but operates as he chooses to assist all mankind during their earthly sojourn. In this the populations are provided the basics of whatever is needed to live with the beauty and meaning of life, especially that life reflecting the image of the creator. Mankind is at best when becoming creative in maintaining good societies and advancing them in the physical/cerebral creation. If earth sojourn is all a person wants or accepts, he or she can have it in that limited fulfillment that created life offers. The problem, of course, is that the populations, being imperfect, often mess things so to foul the creation and lose the good life that nature can give if it is accepted on its terms. Nature, as magnificent as it is, is limited, and reacts, sometimes furiously, when violated. Some of the violation occurs even among those who study it, and publish what they believe to be their findings. All this creates an ebb and flow in the course of human existence – birth, life and death. Some persons fumble with the context, some succeed.
To that context the Christian acknowledges another context (divine grace), which when adopted, is best during life in nature when it is folded into the natural context (common grace). In this there appear some paradoxes, perhaps contradictions. A paradox to one person may be a contradiction to another – depending on their presuppositions. Beliefs of a faith based person relating to God become, in many instances, contradictions by a nature based person. It is helpful to both persons to understand the conflict of beliefs so to accept each other in peace, perhaps even in love, and get on with their experiences and relationships with respect for the processes of God. The test of my acceptance is in the degree to which I am willing to leave it to God to evaluate the case for every human being. My evaluation for meaning is to be within myself. The business of every other person is in themselves and with God. In God the final word is reserved. It is a matter of spiritual (faith based) and physical (nature based) maturity that human beings can get on by minding their own business. (Revelation 22:11) We do witness to truth and leave it there.
Acceptance does not mean approval so the wheat (approved) grows along with the tares (unapproved). God winnows the harvest, and is the arbiter of the harvest. Persons of faith believe he is fair, has reason for judgments, and is justified in final decision relative to each person’s natural sojourn – when it is done. The secret to assurance for Christians is in the deliberate attempt to live the life preferred of God, described in Scripture, and sometimes difficult in the natural environment. Even Jesus carrying both the human and divine nature found the conflict challenging. The peaceful, loving, gentle Jesus rode an unbroken young animal into Jerusalem, and drove out the money-changers from Temple grounds. Very likely his lash was above the heads of the violators. It was a one-time life event related to the awareness of God by mankind. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020