Shopping and learning

After class today, I went across the street from the mall I showed you a picture of before. And this is what I found:

 

Amazingly just across the road there is another giant mall. And these aren't the biggest malls in Manila. Clearly shopping is a significant pass time for a significant portion of the population! And Christmas is certainly a part of the shopping experience right now, with Christmas trees and Christmas carols part of the experience.


On my way to and from class in the taxi, however, I encounter another side of Manila as we pass by many squatters who have set up their homes with scrap metal and the like. It is quite a contrast. (No pictures as I am a bit bashful about capturing those sights...)

In class we spent a bit of time today talking about the book of Jonah. One of the challenges I've given to these students is the need to focus on the big idea of a whole book in order to preach any part of that book. It can be a daunting standard, and yet one that is very important.

My metaphor is this: when you travel between two points, say your typical trip from home to work, or home to school, or home to the store, your route goes through various twists and turns. In fact, at some point during your journey I would guess that you might actually being getting further away from your destination (as the crow flies). You are on the right path, maybe even the best path, but if you look at that part of your path in isolation from the overall plan, it might not make sense given your destination. In fact, someone who only saw that portion of your path might think you had a different destination.

The same thing can be true of a part of any book, and it can also be true of the Bible. As with the segment of your journey, it might only make sense when taken in the light of the whole journey.

In terms of the Bible, the most obvious example is the book of Job. That book records the speeches of several people whom we know in the end are at least significantly wrong. Job also says some things that turn out to be wrong, yet it seems that they aren't as wrong as the others.

A key challenge in understanding the book is to understand these pieces in the light of the whole. Some of what is said is actually meant to be an example of how we shouldn't think, but we only understand that by understanding what the whole book is about.

So we spent a bit of time talking about both the whole and the parts of the book of Jonah. It is always satisfying as a teacher to have some sense that "the light went on" for some students as we went through this discussion. I do hope and pray that these challenging ideas are helping them become more effective in understanding the Bible and in communicating it accurately and effectively to others.

And it is encouraging to learn of a God who is immensely gracious and compassionate, even with his prophet (Jonah) who is not. This book is great news for those who realize that they aren't as 'good' as God, and actually aren't even as good as those we would normally think of as the enemies of God. And for those who figure that they are more pleasing to God than their enemies, God graciously acts to bring a change of heart, promoting the kind of humility that truly becomes the people of God.