Ahhh, the metaphor. It gets so close and yet always disappoints. But what choice do we have but to use metaphors. Everything is representative. Language itself is only a representation of our thoughts, expressions and feelings. They cannot be the actual thoughts, expressions and feelings themselves. I've often wondered what the internal conversations of a feral mind might be, someone who was raised without language. There must be some "language" present to represent thoughts.
Metaphor is like waking from a dream. As soon as you start to explain it and describe it, the original experience begins to dissolve. In fact you are likely to insert meaning and descriptions that were not originally there. There is evidence that every time you access a memory, you change it. So, metaphors cannot be trusted completely, nor our own memories...but still we try. Some one really skilled with language and metaphor cannot speak the Truth, they can only point to it. The value of that language and metaphor is in its ability to speak to the Truth within each of our own existence and experience. If there is a Truth within each of us, the best we can do is try to describe it or point to it in the world. "Life is but a dream!" There is a way that that statement is true, in feeling and experience, but we could never say that the statement itself is true.
I say all this to preface the lackluster metaphor that I am about to use. Math is such a fantastic metaphor because if it's very nature. It deals with solid things, true provable things. Yet the equations themselves are mere metaphor...pointers to the truth. If we were to never exist, if there were no creatures to discover Math, the principles of Math would still exist throughout the Universe.
So, I've already used too many words and metaphors and haven't even begun my point. But here goes: Word Problems. A traditional school exercise Word Problem makes no sense without the context and concept of Math. If a person had gone their whole life and never learned anything about addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and such, then presenting a Word problem (Katie leaves on a Train going X miles an hours, etc..) might appear to be a normal sentence, but also appear to be complete nonsense. Such, for the purposes of my efforts here, is the Word of God. Some have read the Bible and have seen God there, but frankly most that read the Bible or verses do not see God. Some get Math without explanation, most do not. My exposure to scripture as a young man left me cold, confused and did more to create rebellion than wonder. Life has a way of teaching you though. Learning to add and subtract is a part of an intentional effort. And until we get those concepts down, we cannot proceed to the next level. Reading the Bible without a learning sense of Justice, Mercy, Sacrifice, Love, Faith, Law, Guilt, Good, Evil, Shame, Forgiveness, Truth and Beauty leaves you ill equipped to get some meaning and context from the Word. Some believe and obey because they were told to. Some never believe in spite of what has been shown to them. My point is that until you can begin to understand the fallen nature of man, the perfect nature of God, the creation that makes humans both the Apex and the great disappointment of the universe, you cannot process what is in the Word. Until you can conceive that there may be a Love greater than your ability to comprehend, you cannot have the truth of the Word come alive in you. The Word will only start to makes sense when you start to concede the possibility that there is something greater behind it. Like Math has always existed, so too the Reality of a Creator has always existed. The Bible is the ultimate word problem, which tells the story of a Perfect God and an Imperfect Creation. However you set up the equation in your own work, the only answer that can bring balance must include Jesus = Salvation . But there again, Jesus only makes sense if you know that you need a savior. The best I can do is point to the Truth in the World, in the Word and in us and Hope and Pray that a connection is made.
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