Where's Waldo?

   Take a trip to the Dentist, grab the book and be transported back to the joys of childhood. Picture it now: Where's Waldo? How many hours did I spend searching for good ol' Wally? Probably too many, and maybe you did too. But how enjoyable was the challenge that Where's Waldo? presented? You knew he was there, you simply had to find him. Amidst the chaos, confusion and sometimes overwhelming scenes, Waldo was always waiting to be found. On some pages, he caught your eye right away and the search was easy. Others, you spent lengthy periods of time to find him.
   The attempt of this blog is similar. These are my experiences of searching for Jesus in the secular, or nonreligious, world. We live in a world where Christians have closed themselves off to all that is secular. We fail to relate to the world because we box ourselves in our churches. By all means, go to church, but go into the world a well! We have lost our ability to search out Jesus in all things. That is the plan here. Don't get me wrong, I am a stumbling, bumbling Christian, often at war with the doubts and struggles of my own heart. But here I stand, and this is my search. 
   You see, I do not believe that the truth of God is limited to Christians. I think that God uses people, even when they do not know him, to have the ability to speak his truth. The idea of this blog is to take secular songs, every day items, random conversations, and more to reveal truths about God and Christianity. We live in a secular world, but it is not a world that God has abandoned. He reveals himself in mysterious ways through all sorts of mediums. I believe that if we truly begin to seek him in the secular, our faith and understanding will grow leaps and bounds. 
   As a teacher, it makes sense to me to relate new information with information that is already understood by Christians and non Christians alike. The technique is called scaffolding. Jesus did this often through parables using the everyday lives and workings of the Jewish people to explain the Kingdom of God, and it can still be done today. Hence the name The Modern Parable. Obviously my "parables" won't quite be up to par with Jesus. Let's be honest, he set the bar pretty high. But a parable is simply a story that uses allegories and analogies to prove or understand a spiritual truth or a piece of God's word. That said, look to the next post to see one of my modern parables. But even more so, look around your world and search for God. He is there through the chaos and confusion. You just have to look. And when you find him, it's more exciting and rewarding than finding Waldo. I promise.