Star Trek:The Next Generation and God???
So what I am going to write about something that has been bouncing around my brain for a while. The inspiration came one night while I was trying to fall asleep. The more I think maybe it was just a passing thought the more I wonder if there is more to it. I have told a group of friends and some friends individually and it feels like it really could be a great visual for us, especially us women Christ followers.
One night last weekend I was going to bed, and I like to have some background noise to fall asleep. I have never used a fan or a white noise machine, but when we got a tablet that replaced our TV for this purpose. So I watch Netflix. As I was falling asleep the 8th episode in the 2nd season of Star Trek: The Next Generation came on called "A Matter of Honor". When I was explaining this episode to my husband he knew right away which one it was, so that may be the case with you, but for those who have never seen this Start Trek: The Next Generation I am going to give some plot description.
There is Officer exchange program so they can learn how other ships are run. The Enterprise is sending their 1st Officer William Riker to be the 1st Officer on the Klingon ship. The Enterprise gets a 1st Officer from the Klingon ship, this fact is important. So William Riker has to fight to take his place as the 1st officer on the Klingon ship, he is successful. Soon after taking his position on the Klingon ship and there has been some "bonding" with Riker and the Klingon crew the Klingons discover a strange organic matter eating away at the outside of the ship. They, the Klingons, immediately assume that the Enterprise knew and placed this matter on their ship. They question Riker, who of course says why would the Enterprise do something like that, something that would cause the loss of his own life? He didn't know anything about the matter and neither did the Enterprise. The Klingon captain, with his assumptions decided to turn around and create a war with the Enterprise. They cloak, go invisible, and prepare their weapons for battle.
The Enterprise's new 1st Officer has noticed, scanned and studied the matter without telling his commander that there was potentially a problem at all. He, the Enterprise's new 1st Officer, wanted to have a solution to the problem before presenting it to his commander. He has noticed the organic matter not only on the Enterprise, but on the Klingon ship as well. When the captain hears about the matter, he decides to go to the Klingon ship and help repair the damage. They turn around and begin to head to the Klingon ship, having no idea there is an assumption brewing.
The Klingons see the Enterprise headed in their direction and believe that the Enterprise is going to start a war, I mean why else would they be headed their direction????
Of course William Riker saves the day, and if you haven't seen this one maybe you should watch it. There are many more details that I missed and I won't completely give away the ending. So here is what was going through my head as I was listening to this show this night.
Wow, I can totally see myself as the Klingon ship! How many times have I heard half of a story and jump to a conclusion without hearing the rest? How many times have I let a friends words hurt me, assuming that they didn't care? How many times have I assumed that someone else's relationship with the Lord wasn't strong because of the way they worshiped(yes, sad but true)? Do I have the full picture in any of these situations? No, of course not. When I listen to the voices that make situations bigger in my head,(and let me be real honest here I have a very, very active imagination) the situations can get completely out of wack! So I can make anything into something good, bad, or wild, by thought. Those roads are so much better not traveled.
When I assume the worst of a situation I prepare for battle! I am armed with what I am going to say, how I am going to act toward that person in any situation. Sometime I refuse to listen to the Rikers in my life who tell me that this situation was not what I saw it to be.
God is so much more interested in our hearts than our religion or our "truth". I believe that if we are willing to lay assumptions aside, He can do more that we can think or imagine with in our home, churches, and communities. Are we willing to not jump to battle? Are we willing to see others the way that God sees them? He doesn't see them with the flaws they have, the past they have lived or the trial they are walking through. He sees them as His beloved child.
For me personally I don't want to be seen as a broken, hurt woman of the past anymore, God has healed more hurts than I knew I had. I am grateful. I want to be seen as the warrior that He sees me as, covered in armor, His armor. The armor that Jesus died and rose again to give to me! When I am with friends who do not see me with the grace and love God has given me I can't not continue to be hurt by the way that they see me. If I allow their view of me to affect me I am then having Klingon moments. I instead need to remember that God sees them with the same love and compassion as He sees me. They are His children also. So I want to choose to see other with the lens of love and compassion.
There is also something with the idea or thought of relationship within all of this...If the Klingons were in better relationship with the Enterprise they might not have assumed purposeful destruction. So for those who see me as a broken woman, that God can not use for Kingdom purposes they are likely to have little to no relationship with me. I honestly try to be open about what God is doing and speaking into my life all the time. So while sometime it may feel like God is moving backwards He is often just rearranging my thought life to line back up with His thoughts. If you only see me once a week, briefly with no real connection time, it's hard to be in relationship. And as much as that is true for me as a human it is so much more true for God our Father.
So what was just a small thought about not jumping to assumptions with those around me really ended up about relationship. I am very happy that God continued to go deeper with these thoughts with me. I have some people in my life that I need to see the way God sees them. And I am willing to ask God to help me do that. One thing that I know is that I want to love people well, no matter what stage of life they are in.
One night last weekend I was going to bed, and I like to have some background noise to fall asleep. I have never used a fan or a white noise machine, but when we got a tablet that replaced our TV for this purpose. So I watch Netflix. As I was falling asleep the 8th episode in the 2nd season of Star Trek: The Next Generation came on called "A Matter of Honor". When I was explaining this episode to my husband he knew right away which one it was, so that may be the case with you, but for those who have never seen this Start Trek: The Next Generation I am going to give some plot description.
There is Officer exchange program so they can learn how other ships are run. The Enterprise is sending their 1st Officer William Riker to be the 1st Officer on the Klingon ship. The Enterprise gets a 1st Officer from the Klingon ship, this fact is important. So William Riker has to fight to take his place as the 1st officer on the Klingon ship, he is successful. Soon after taking his position on the Klingon ship and there has been some "bonding" with Riker and the Klingon crew the Klingons discover a strange organic matter eating away at the outside of the ship. They, the Klingons, immediately assume that the Enterprise knew and placed this matter on their ship. They question Riker, who of course says why would the Enterprise do something like that, something that would cause the loss of his own life? He didn't know anything about the matter and neither did the Enterprise. The Klingon captain, with his assumptions decided to turn around and create a war with the Enterprise. They cloak, go invisible, and prepare their weapons for battle.
The Enterprise's new 1st Officer has noticed, scanned and studied the matter without telling his commander that there was potentially a problem at all. He, the Enterprise's new 1st Officer, wanted to have a solution to the problem before presenting it to his commander. He has noticed the organic matter not only on the Enterprise, but on the Klingon ship as well. When the captain hears about the matter, he decides to go to the Klingon ship and help repair the damage. They turn around and begin to head to the Klingon ship, having no idea there is an assumption brewing.
The Klingons see the Enterprise headed in their direction and believe that the Enterprise is going to start a war, I mean why else would they be headed their direction????
Of course William Riker saves the day, and if you haven't seen this one maybe you should watch it. There are many more details that I missed and I won't completely give away the ending. So here is what was going through my head as I was listening to this show this night.
Wow, I can totally see myself as the Klingon ship! How many times have I heard half of a story and jump to a conclusion without hearing the rest? How many times have I let a friends words hurt me, assuming that they didn't care? How many times have I assumed that someone else's relationship with the Lord wasn't strong because of the way they worshiped(yes, sad but true)? Do I have the full picture in any of these situations? No, of course not. When I listen to the voices that make situations bigger in my head,(and let me be real honest here I have a very, very active imagination) the situations can get completely out of wack! So I can make anything into something good, bad, or wild, by thought. Those roads are so much better not traveled.
When I assume the worst of a situation I prepare for battle! I am armed with what I am going to say, how I am going to act toward that person in any situation. Sometime I refuse to listen to the Rikers in my life who tell me that this situation was not what I saw it to be.
God is so much more interested in our hearts than our religion or our "truth". I believe that if we are willing to lay assumptions aside, He can do more that we can think or imagine with in our home, churches, and communities. Are we willing to not jump to battle? Are we willing to see others the way that God sees them? He doesn't see them with the flaws they have, the past they have lived or the trial they are walking through. He sees them as His beloved child.
For me personally I don't want to be seen as a broken, hurt woman of the past anymore, God has healed more hurts than I knew I had. I am grateful. I want to be seen as the warrior that He sees me as, covered in armor, His armor. The armor that Jesus died and rose again to give to me! When I am with friends who do not see me with the grace and love God has given me I can't not continue to be hurt by the way that they see me. If I allow their view of me to affect me I am then having Klingon moments. I instead need to remember that God sees them with the same love and compassion as He sees me. They are His children also. So I want to choose to see other with the lens of love and compassion.
There is also something with the idea or thought of relationship within all of this...If the Klingons were in better relationship with the Enterprise they might not have assumed purposeful destruction. So for those who see me as a broken woman, that God can not use for Kingdom purposes they are likely to have little to no relationship with me. I honestly try to be open about what God is doing and speaking into my life all the time. So while sometime it may feel like God is moving backwards He is often just rearranging my thought life to line back up with His thoughts. If you only see me once a week, briefly with no real connection time, it's hard to be in relationship. And as much as that is true for me as a human it is so much more true for God our Father.
So what was just a small thought about not jumping to assumptions with those around me really ended up about relationship. I am very happy that God continued to go deeper with these thoughts with me. I have some people in my life that I need to see the way God sees them. And I am willing to ask God to help me do that. One thing that I know is that I want to love people well, no matter what stage of life they are in.
Lord, You know my heart in this moment. You see to the very depths of my soul. I am asking you to show me the relationships that are seeped in assumption and accusation. Forgive me for not loving or seeing others the way that You do. Give me eyes to see those around me with lenses like Yours. In those times when I am misunderstood or misseen give bigger openings for relationship and allow the assumptions to fall away.
Comments
Post a Comment