Analysis of Biblical Perspective - Essay Example

Analysis of Biblical Perspective 1. I firmly believe that love to God can be expressed only through respect, love and care for others. I try to be a caregiver for all who are in need. The ability to see God in all life forms, no matter how big or small, leads to selfless love that transcends all material concerns. However, I understand that we tend to nurture love selfishly in most cases. Even the love we claim to have for others, including parents and other close family members, generate from selfish motives. To overcome this, one has to put to test the real motives behind expressions of love and rethink on the real, selfless aspects of love. When we try to help others for out own emotional fulfillment, the meaning of love is lost. On the other hand, we have to help others without the sign power over them, and make sure that our help is done the way they need it, on their own terms. Quite naturally, such acts of love is apt to result in personal losses to the caregiver but one can be assured that they are worth the trouble as long as they are done as an expression of love to God. The perfect example for true love to God is set by saintly figures like Mother Teresa, who sacrificed their personal comforts and joy for the sake of providing a decent life for many extremely poor and sick people who had no one to look after them. When I think of being a caregiver, I hope to strive towards such a level of selfless love for others, even if I start it from simple acts of kindness in daily life. Apart from being vigilant to the needs of individuals and society in general, I would also like to make a pact with God through a number of such meaningful little acts of love that would fall into a specific pattern. However, I would also like to keep my work towards that as an issue between me and God, which needs constant self-reflection and prayerful communication with God. 2. The passage from Matthew 8:28-32 deals with the healing of two demon-possessed men. It describes how Jesus arrived with his disciples at Gadarenes where the two possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They are described as so violent that no one could pass through that way. They encountered Jesus violently, addressing him as “son of God” and asking him: “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” The spirits requested him to send them to a herd of pigs rearing nearby, and Jesus does exactly the same. The pigs rushed down the steep bank down the lake and they perish, whereof those who were tending them rushed to the town to inform others of this. Hearing this, the whole town came to the place and pleaded him to leave their region. I often wonder how the passage would read if it was rewritten. I always ask myself why Jesus had to let the spirits take over the herd of pigs just because the possessed men suggested it. It meant that the innocent animals had to die, and the commotion that ensued did add to some kind of negative publicity. The compassion that Jesus showed to human beings raises expectations that the same would be shown to all living forms, especially since he was a shepherd as well. The act of letting the pigs die makes it a humanistic affair valuing human life more than other life forms. I would have preferred it if the spirits could have been driven out of the two men without harming the pigs. However, that would not have created the situation where the people of that region were offended. But the fact is that all the miracles that Jesus did in that place did offend them, which was supposed to lead to the inevitable events that made the life of Jesus so significant. 3. The entire experience of classes that I shared with incredibly talented and affectionate friends has left an indelible mark in my consciousness. The fact that we were allowed to mingle well inside and outside the class has helped build a meaningful and spiritual bond among us. The general values of a good life through faith in God that we reflected on during our individual and group tasks has helped me strengthen the optimism regarding life and has also led me to a better understanding of life. As an individual, I approached the course as an opportunity to learn about life in general by enriching my spiritual; bond with God and the world. Therefore, each task that was assigned to me had been of immense value to me. Moreover, the every single experience in the class had been a great learning experience for me. The group tasks and learning experiences gave me an opportunity to get exposed to different viewpoints and experiences regarding life and spirituality. The very goal of the course was to let people from different regions and with varied life experiences to come together, share their experiences and views and to benefit from it in specific ways. In that sense, I have to confess that I have made a lot of efforts for self-improvement and have changed drastically from the me who joined the course. The pleasant fact about the change is that I am convinced that it is all for the good. The interactive sessions with my classmates who had entirely different experiences in life and their particular responses to these experiences had led me to think about life and God more introspectively. I always cherish the opportunities I get to interact with likeminded people, and the class provided me with a heavenly mix of the choicest community in which I enjoyed every moment we met for learning activities. The oral presentations were looked at with some apprehension by us all in the beginning. But as the experiences of addressing people who cared for what we spoke about started to become an enjoyable experience as time passed by and our class developed into a closely packed group of people who were capable of great oral presentations and debates. I enjoyed and benefited from my own oral presentations and my classmates’ presentations as well. It gave me an opportunity to conduct proper research on specific topics and to present them systematically. There was indeed a development of soft-skills in the subconscious level. Moreover, it was a delectable experience to be a part of the audience when truly insightful presentations were made by others. This gave me enough space to contemplate on alternate views on the themes we discussed. I made use of the opportunity to raise my doubts and lead the presentations to higher levels through constructive criticism. The most important benefit I had from the experiences in class is the strengthening of my bond with Jesus. Even though I used to consider myself a spiritual person who had faith in Jesus, the classes had in fact changed my whole attitude to the issue. I started to rethink my positions and was eventually brought closer to God. This happened with the help of the teachers, classmates and the specific coursework we followed. The intense retrospection that was called for in most of my learning experiences has made me more clear and confident about my relationship with Jesus. There is no question of wavering in faith from now onwards, though I understand that my relationship with Jesus has to evolve in a unique manner constantly. There is a lot more to experience, and the search has to be on forever. But I am presented with a lot of possible paths through which I could further explore my own spiritual quest. The alternate views on spirituality and faith presented to me through the coursework and the interaction with teachers and classmates have in fact enriched my world view. I am also more sensitive to the needs of people in many life situations. I am on the way to comprehending them all properly, through observing all life forms on the face of the earth without any preconceived notions or judgmental attitudes. I have learnt that love and forgiveness are part of self-sacrifice, and they can only be experienced when they are expressed without sovereignty or power. The overall experience of the class has made me a better person through meaningful interactions, group learning activities and oral presentations. The affection and care shown by the teachers and their ability to lead the class to workable activities have heightened the possibilities of the coursework, which was comprehensive and well-developed. Moreover, the presence of a power that unites human minds had been evident from the beginning till end, and is apt to follow through the lives of all of us who attended the class. It doubtless that the course had been a blessed one that sensitized many like me to a life-long relationship with Jesus, which prepared us all to meet the trials and tribulations of life with a positive outlook to life and a willingness to be caregivers to those in need. Read More