Mans Fundamental Reverence to the Supreme Being - Literature Essay Samples

The God of the Old Testament is no less omnipotent today. By definition, the theoretical notion of an all-consuming being points to human limitation and protects the God from being touched by constantly varying human perception. The ultimate, embodying force of the universe exists in and of itself; it is absolute, regardless of a humans characterization and personification of God. The need to embrace a singular image of God comes naturally with human psyche, yet to fully comprehend what God is, was, and will always be exceeds human capability. As the Bible relates mankinds historical plight to understand our place in Gods universe, what reads is not an account of the Lords evolving compassion, but a linear description of mans gradual realization of an infinitely gracious God, supremely expansive in the air of existence. Inside the pages of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, mans picture of the Lord takes on numerous forms. Each attempt to conceive the source of freely given grac e represents the will to receive, to live properly and humbly in gratitude to the God that exists larger than life.Exhibiting the fundamental storyline to Judeo-Christian scripture, the Poetical and Wisdom Books of the Hebrew Bible illustrate the paradox of mankinds affliction, as Gods breadth of mercy seems to fail in eliminating evil. The Book of Job presents an outwardly innocent man who nevertheless struggles to survive pain and tumult. As Jobs sudden misery leads him to question the justice of the universe, the Lords baffled response puts Job in his inherently sinful and lesser place in the structure of Gods world: Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? (Job 38: 4). In this Old Testament work, it is not Gods justification for Jobs treatment that matters, but how Job reacts in the face of an omnipotent force. Although angry with God, Job doesnt repudiate the relationship; he only seeks a coherent explanation of Gods rationale. The Book of Job challenges the comm on ethical dynamics of crime and punishment, sin and retribution. Job suffers regardless of his innocence or guilt; while the lowly human desires the clarification he believes God owes him, God, in effect, owes him nothing, thus making His freely given grace infinitely sacred.Psalm 51 likewise emanates the superiority of the relationship between the ultimate life-giver and His lesser offspring. As Job faced the reality of his inherent sin and his intrinsic connection to God, so does Psalm 51 read, my sin is ever before meIndeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me (3,5). Humans in the early biblical writings discover their undeniable dependence on the force that created them, thereby rooting mankinds worth in God only. In gratitude, King David seeks to reciprocate Gods grace back to its divine source, resolving to teach transgressors [His] ways (13), and thus reflect the glorified God of [his] salvation (14).The Old Testament credits more to the character of God than His presupposed superiority. As the Bible presents evolving human discernment of the Lord in heaven, His personification develops from that of a righteous ruler for the exiled Israelites to a divine Father for the marginalized Christians of the first century. Within the Prophetic Books of the Hebrew Bible, Gods relationship with Hosea foreshadows His impending characterization as a Heavenly Father. God moves Hosea to foster familial love for an unfaithful wife, a situation which results in barefaced betrayal analogous to the Lords experience; as Hosea mourns his wifes prostitution, the Lord explicates His corresponding situation, speaking in the words of a grievous parent: When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son How can I hand you over, O Israel? (Hosea 11: 1, 8). The peoples betrayal of God uncovers another instance in which humans are called to be timidly subordinate to their guardian on high, regardless of His affection. They shall go after the Lord, who roars like a lionhis children shall come trembling from the west (11: 10).Despite supposed shifts in the New Testaments portrayal of the Lord, the prologue to the Book of John sustains the Jewish view of Gods sublime power. While drawing from the Jewish creation story, the writer of John simultaneously places Jesus back at the beginning of time, equal with the Father, and a definitive source of the universe. As Davids salvation was infinitely within grasp, so does Jesus encompass the human world in the Book of John: He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being (John 1:2-3). Here, the view of Gods ultimate power has not changed; Christianitys differentiation from Judaism roots itself in the proclamation that Jesus and the Lord are one and the same. Regardless, the gospels make a similar call to individuals to live in gratitude to the source of their worth.Due to the framework of human perspective, J udeo-Christians are necessarily left with perceptions of God as a human, fatherly figure. The Bible offers an array of opportunities to differentiate, to compare and contrast the seemingly contradictory identities of God, formidable to ancient Israelites, and the Messiahthe living source of salvationto early Christians. In all our efforts to perceive God as an all-powerful individual, we forget that only we are individuals, and God remains the ultimate body that is the source of all things. As God is believed by many to have created man in His image, man persistently idealizes a God that is accessible to human rationality. This God exhibits the comprehensible characteristics of an omnipotent ruler, a steadfast companion, a loving parent, such that the Bible represents the limitations of human consciousness and the historical inscrutability of God; yet through this literary chronology of Western societys developing views toward the source of all things, Gods unconditional love for ma nkind presents itself in His unfailing effort to be comprehensible within the realm of human perception. Likewise, the various peoples of the Bible collectively exemplify humanitys intrinsic subordination to their divine origin. The mystifying Father exceeds human intellect and infinitely encompasses the universe, as His children rest humbly in the palm of His hand.

Power of Appreciation Paper - 1100 Words

Power of Appreciation (Other (Not Listed) Sample) Content: NameProfessorInstitutionCourseDateTHE POWER OF APPRECIATIONA certain young and educated woman in an up market estate is having an especially bad day. Coming from her lecture session in a prestigious university, her professor was complaining of her academic underperformance for two consecutive years. To add salt to the injury her father had just called her. He presented her with a tough ultimatum: to stay out of trouble with the law, failure to which he would cut the link that existed between their bank accounts. According to her father she was continuously becoming an embarrassment to the family due to her regular and frequent run ins with the law. She huffed as she threw her expensive and latest iPhone into her new designer Gucci clutch bag. She thought to herself, "My third instance of drinking under the influence angered him much more than the first and second. He will get over it. I hope.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ She quickly fished her phone back out of her handbag and calle d her two classmates who were also her best friends. They arranged and agreed to catch up at their regular bar. An hour and a half later she and her best friends arrive at the swanky and exclusive bar. Each of them orders a glass of appletinis. A few moments later she is letting loose on about her father. She would be a lost kitten if she lost the support of her father, she narrated to her friends. Her friends nodded, only speaking on cue.Her eyes wandered and landed to a disheveled young man who is seated three spaces over at the bar. He wore a suit and his head was held between his hands. The only company he had was the whiskey glass in front of him. "At least my day is better than his," the young woman thought to herself. At that moment her awful mood lifted a bit.The young man in a suit groaned at nothing in particular. "Should I move? I cannot stand to listen to this bunch of spoilt women anymore," he thought to himself. Just as fast as the thought of moving had appeared, the f aster it disappeared. A streak of misfortunes facing him took its place at the forefront of his mind. He was a young renowned investor and he had just made a disastrous and costly trade. The deal had cost his organization one of its best clients ever. It could not have come any closer to costing him his prestigious job and definitely his bonus. On a positive note however, he had just bought himself a brand new Aston Martin. He groaned again and downed the whiskey in one shot. He then signaled the cocktail waitress for another of the same.As he was waiting to be served, he heard the words every person dreads to receive. "Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s not you, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s me." He sighed deeply. All this time while he was seated there he barely noticed a couple that was seated next to him. The guy was being dumped in public, in a bar for that matter."Please, give me one more chance. Just one!" the guy pleaded. "We have wasted five years of our lives in this so called marriage. I cannot do this any more. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬m sorry!" the lady said as she pushed back her bar stool.Once again the young investor grimaced, "Five years? At least I do have a happy marriage and, at least my day is better than his." At this point his sad mood lifted a bit. The cocktail waitress set a fresh glass of whiskey in front of him.The guy seated next to the investor was now distraught. He sat and watched his now new ex-wife leave her seat and the bar as well. He knew there was some truth in what she had just said. She was right! For more than a year now they had not been happy but that did not ease the sting he felt one bit. He got up from his seat to go to the bathroom. He needed to get out of that seat, and decide on his first drink as a now single man. As he was waiting for the bathroom, he stood next to the kitchen and heard everything coming from it. There was a commotion that was impossible to miss.The bar manager was yelling at the cocktail waitress. "You are well aware that the required unifor m is a white shirt. Look at yours! It is clearly off-white. Now, I am going to send you out on your lunch break and when you come back, I expect you to be in full uniform if you are really in need of keeping your job. There is a uniform store three blocks down the street. Yes! I know it is not cheap, but you know what? I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬t really care. You better start moving. Your lunch break started three minutes ago!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ The man shifted his weight willing the patron in the bathroom to hustle. He did not come here to be a spectator of peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s problems. The waitress exited the kitchen brushing him with her head down. "At least my day is better than hers," he thought to himself. His bad mood was lifted a little bit.On her way outside a few tears leaked from the waitressà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s eyes. Her manager was well known by the barà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s employee for his cruelty and high handedness. On the other hand, the bar was one of the most upscale establishments in town, and s he had mouths depending on her for food. As she hurried through the three blocks to the uniform store, she cursed herself for thinking the manager would not notice her shirt. Now she had to pay double price more than what she usually pays for her work shirts.At the storeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s entrance, she asked one of the workers where the white womenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s work shirts were. He pointed next to him without uttering a word and not looking up from the shirts he was folding. If she was quick enough, she would probably have time to eat. She went through a few of the shirts and grabbed her size. She then headed to the cashier. Her stomach was now rumbling. As she waited to be served, she watched as a customer went through all the piles of the neatly folded clothing. Behind the customer was the man who had helped her. He was staring at the customer with a look of pure disdain on his face. She looked away, barely stifling a laugh. She remembered what it was like working in the retail industry . She went into the restaurant business because the money was not worth the customers. "At least my day is better than his." She thought to herself. Her bad mood was lifted a bit.The uniform store worker began refolding the shirts again, his face blank. However, his mind was racing. "I swear some people do that on purpose," he thought to himself. The worker was counting down the minutes before his shift was over. Unfortunately for him, he had to pass by the bureauà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s office right after his time was over. His benefits had been withheld for some reason and so he needed to clear up the mess before he could go grocery shopping. The minute his time was up, he literally ran out of the store. He grumbled to himself that his full-time job at the store did not make enough to avoid government aid offices. Up until he worked his way up, it is the only thing he had to do.He walked into the bureauà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s office, glad that he had beaten the crowd. But that was not before a man with crutches who was causing a fracas. Apparently, this was his first time here as...