By Joel B.
In chapter five of the Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, I found lines that not only impacted me but also inspired me to grow closer to God as well. This line, which actually was a song, occurred when everyone was in church singing and praying. The line states, "Lead me, lead me to a rock that is higher than I." (117) I believe this is a great statement because not only are you surrendering your life up to God but you know that He is going to take care of you much better than you could ever take care of yourself. Unfortunately, I haven't always lived by this principle and sometimes I want to go my own way and do my own things. However, I never get very far because I chose not to have God with me, leading me to a rock higher than I will ever reach. This reminds me of the parable in the Bible where it talks about one man building his house on the sand and one man building his house on the rock. When the storm came, the house on the sand was destroyed but the house on the rock stood strong. Today, if I choose God to be the rock of my life, the storms of this life will never destroy me. I will never forget this parable because not only is it great to look to for the present but also it will be a great reminder in the future to always put my faith in God, so He can lead me. He will always be bigger than I and I have to realize that without Him I can accomplish nothing. However, with Him I can do anything, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me ." (Philippians 4:13)
Dang man, that was deep. I rate this the best blog of the year!! You took one line out of our reading and made a life lesson out of which was progressive. What you just said shows wisdom and understanding that many people fail to understand our age. Good job!!
ReplyDeleteDaniel Hawkins
Joel, I really like this. I'm not reading Invisible Man, but parts of this link to Native Son. I like how you tied religion into this. I have to agree.
ReplyDelete-Emily T
Wow, I really liked this post. It reminded me of the story of the man who built his house on the rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand, although they have different themes. I was inspired by this. As I was reading this, I wished for the courage to be able to express my relationship with God like you have here. Thank you for the wake up call. More people should be as strong in their faith. Thank you!
ReplyDelete-Mariah N.
Great blog Joel! As college looms ever closer, I think many of us are going to have to rely on God as our rock more than ever before. He is the one thing in our lives that will never change. I didn't see this biblical connection in Invisible Man until now- but thanks for pointing it out! -Dorothy Zuniga
ReplyDeleteI love how you took one line in the book and made a connection with your faith. I admire your openness about your relationship with God. You are totally right about setting Christ as our foundation for living, because without him, we truly can do nothing. I think the parable of the men who build their houses on sand and rock might be one of my favorites, so thank you for bringing that to tour attention! I never would have made that kind of connection before reading this post.
ReplyDeleteDayna M.
I really liked how you included that sometimes you choose to go your own way, because everyone is like this, no matter how strong their faith. But like you said, if we choose to have God with us, we won't stray very far. Once saved, always saved!
ReplyDelete<3 lisa lee
Nice connection Joel, when I saw your name on the blog post I knew you would write something along these lines ahah. It is good though I see your point, and I would like to add my perspective of this. I think he is also saying that by being a better person and taking the higher route you can make a difference. To be a good person, one worth being. In the end he realizes that being invisible does no good to anyone at all and that you need to stand up and make your mark. Which, could tie in to your point as God would like for everyone to stand up for what is right.
ReplyDeleteGreat response Joel! I liked how you tied in scripture. Most of us do stray away from the God in the search for ourselves. However, its the fall that builds us up, and finds our true purpose in life.
ReplyDelete- Anthony Flores