IS IT TIME YET?

At Theologica.ning, an online community of those who want to discuss (and encourage others? and be encouraged by others?) the things of God as revealed in Christianity, one sister asked recently is it God's plan that mankind's and christianity's understanding of what God's plans and will are - is that changing over time? The question was something like that.

I think yes, YES. At the time when Jesus was walking around down here, the jews thought that they alone were in God's heart, even though God had originally said to Abraham, " I will bless you and the nation that comes from you and you-all will be a blessing to the nations, (and those that bless you will be blessed, and those that curse you will be cursed.)

Part of what Jesus had to accomplish while here was to explain to the jews about God "expanding the kingdom."

In my view, some places where Jesus was explaining that were :
Where Jesus told about the rich man who died and was across a gulf from the poor man , Lazarus, and Abraham. I see that as Jesus saying "Hey. Abraham is just a man. He cannot bridge that gulf. God could bridge the gulf, but not Abraham. Also, Abraham does not have the perfect love for people that God has. Also, maybe Jesus was asking His hearers to consider for themselves if the rich man "got what he deserved" according to the Law, and maybe there needs to be more.

How about this one: Maybe when Jesus was saying "One does not light a lamp and put it under a bushel" He was asking His hearers to remember the story of Gideon. In that story, Gideon DOES put lit flames in enclosures (jars?) until a strategic time. Maybe Jesus was saying, "there was a specific time when Gideon broke the jars and let the light shine. My time here is the start of a new time just like that.

BATHED IN PRAYER

I am reading the book PLAYING THE ENEMY, by Carlin at present. It is about Nelson Mandela, the time of his captivity, the time of his release and election and his goal and plan for the new political establishment after the end of apartheid to come about without bloody revolution. In particular the book (and the movie INVICTUS also), I think, is about his decision to embrace the 1995(?) rugby world cup in which the mainly white South African team was playing as an opportunity for the disparate sectors of South Africa to unite. As I have been reading the events of Mandela's life, and how the government, even before his realease, was making an effort to make peace with him, I wondered if there was a lot of prayer going up for the country of South Africa, and for the peaceful transition to the post-apartheid country it needed to become. I was wondering where I could find info on who might have been praying (Desmond Tutu, of course, would have been leading his people in that. I didn't know if Mandela identified himself as christian.)

Soon after that question arose, the answer came. The author final typed out the words of the Black African Anthem of Liberation in english. It was a prayer to God from beginning to end! And a beautiful prayer, too. Not angry and vengeful, but sad and asking, and looking and hoping for the future day when all the country's people would be at peace and happy.

I would like to find out more about that anthem, and to hear it. I really want to hear it, with all those people singing together so fervent.

I'm really lookin forward to the movie, also.