Man carrying thing (pt. 2)

I was thinking about how Sexson will often have us come up in front of the class and share their discoveries, their epiphanies, and their revelations with the class. I believe we would call this a testimony. They share a newfound truth with us, and we as critics have the delicate and weighty responsibility of handling this truth that they have so generously bestowed upon our fragile minds.

And as I began to think further on the subject, I wondered why Sexson would have us testify before the class. I cannot say for sure whether or not this is true, but let me share my thoughts, my testimony, and you can weigh whether or not you think it valid.

In Christianity people share their testimony. They testify to what God has done in their lives, and usually it centers around this thing called the Gospel. You see, if someone is truly changed by the Gospel, so say Christians, then they do not just know about the Gospel, they actually know it. And if they actually know it, then they can share it with people around them without the help of the Bible or a piece of paper with "6 easy steps to meeting Jesus", or whatever. They can stand before a group of people and speak it with confidence and conviction and certainty because it is not just something they wrote about or thought about or read about. It is part of them.

The reason I write this is not to proselytize, but because I think Sexson is doing much the same thing with us. I might write something in my blog, but if it is truly a transformative force in my life, a catalyst, and agent of change, then I need not read it off of my blog or notes or what have you. Now, to be fair, James read to us, but the passion behind that reading indicate it is something more than merely words on a page. It is part of him.

I think all of us have something to say. We are all carrying a thing, and it is significant and precious and protected by each of us. But notice what happens when someone exposes themselves, makes themselves vulnerable. What James is thinking is different from what I am thinking, but it informs my thoughts and may even shift or change or impact them. Brianna shared a poem with us, and it was admittedly embarrassing for her. But it was brilliant. Dustin shares his profound thoughts regardless of the fact that they may be judged as overachieving and intimidating. Chase stood up and shared his thoughts with us though he was still working through some of the things he had considered. Eli shared some incredible thoughts yesterday. And all of these instances inform us. They move us, they cause us to swerve. We all carry a thing, and it is only that until exposed, pushed into the void, and made known. Then it becomes more than the primary thing itself; it becomes the secondary which is even more true and more real and all in all more than the primary.

Do not just carry the thing, share it.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Matthew 5:15