Relatable // Moriah Nelson
I have really enjoyed reading Saint Augustine’s Confessionsthe past few weeks. One of my favorite realizations I made as I’ve read this work is how relatable Augustine’s struggles and emotions are for nearly every generation. For instance, he writes in Chapter Three just before paragraph six, “I loved my own ways, not yours. The liberty I loved was merely that of a runaway.” This thought was probably influenced by Augustine’s understanding of the Bible and human nature and brought to mind the verses, Isaiah 30:1-2,
“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
2 who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!”
“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
2 who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!”
Even God’s people could say they, “loved my own ways, not yours”, about how they lived. To this day, anyone who is not pursuing God and His way of righteousness is loving his or her own ways.
In the last sentence of the second paragraph of chapter five Augustine writes, “Where was I when I was seeking for you? You were there before me, but I had departed from myself. I could not even find myself, must less you.” In a day and age where so many people, especially millennials and the young adults of Generation Z, feel like they have to “find themselves” to be truly happy or fulfilled, it is interesting to see this was a struggle Saint Augustine also experienced. And yet, as he so eloquently puts it, “I could not even find myself, much less you.” Augustine experienced the futility of trying to fill the void in his soul with anything besides Christ.
The very fact that someone penned their struggles honestly and then presented his found solution should be encouraging to us today as we face our own struggles in life and give us a source from which to learn.
I commented on Zelda and Eliza's posts.
I commented on Zelda and Eliza's posts.
OH. MY. WORD. Preachhhhhhh. Okay, so that's something I also noticed but didn't quite know how to word, and you did that fabulously! Like, the fact that he could be so open and honest was stellar right from the start, but the fact that his struggles are almost IDENTICAL to the ones of today is extremely crazy yet also relieving because at least we have an example in front of us on a wide format that shouts, "yes, I'm not perfect but I am better than I was - you could be, too!" To have such a relatable person who mellifluously intertwines that with Biblical truth and idealistic thoughts on how to pull away from those things is superb. I haven't read the whole book yet, but I am loving the story so far!
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful Moriah, I feel this way too. St.Augustine says several times throughout the books that he was not ready yet for Christ and I think that is very interesting also. What exactly does being ready for Christ mean? The entire point of accepting God and choosing him is that we were nothing before him. By finding Christ we find this "purpose" that everyone searches for and we make our selves prepared for him through him. But how exactly does one "get ready" for Christ without finding him first?
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis! Augustine shares his feelings on a level that was unheard of at that time. Writing one of the first autobiographical works, he connects with Christians and even many unbelievers when describing his feelings towards Christ. Augustine comforts me in that he is truly experiencing many pains that people face today. These problems did not manifest yesterday, and we have others to look to and learn from. Augustine is easily one of my favorite theologians to read and analyze.
ReplyDeleteGirl, when did you become a preacher?? For real though, I don't want to speak for anyone other than me, but I honestly relate to this so much. So many times I find myself wondering, in some cases it is more of a running instead of a wondering, away from God. I keep trying to fix me and it does not work. Ever. I try to figure out my life my way instead of just trying to let go and let God take care of it, and i don't understand why. I've been on both sides of this equation, letting go and letting God take care of it, and then trying to do it my way instead, and God's way is always the only way that works.
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea of finding himself, much less God are connected to his view that God is and is within all being, and that evil is an incompleteness of being. Too many of us try to find who we are outside of Christ and realize that we are only building a version of ourselves that we see as good, when the true good is finding who we were always meant to be in Christ.
ReplyDelete- Phillip Vo