Pondering...

This evening I was having a conversation with my father which ended up taking a biblical turn, as they usually do, and we stumbled upon a difference of belief.

Now while I know this is not uncommon I just wonder what causes each of us to read the same passage and take different things from it? My father and I are both the same religion, Seventh Day Adventists. We discuss religion frequently together and we quite often find we have been studying similar topics or pondering similar things without realizing it. It sort of stopped me up short that he had a different view on the topic we were discussing.

I am not a person who believes they are always right or dislikes when someone has a different belief or opinion, instead my mind always wonders to "how did they get that" I want to see where they are coming from, I want to know how their mind works!

I find it fascinating that we as humans can read the same thing and perceive it differently. What an amazing chance for discovery and growth! What a great learning experience.... if we let it! How often do we choose to see the other person as "wrong" and write off their thoughts and opinions because they differ from our own, especially where religion is concerned.

I truly believe that God puts people in our path for a reason. They might be a different religion, they may have different beliefs, they may think very differently from us. However they may also have been put in our path to open our minds to a new concept or thought. However for us to receive this new information, we need to be open minded.

Of course I think this applies to many other aspects of life. Not simply religion. While I am open minded to discussing religion, I am not always open minded to other subjects.....I guess I have some personal growth to achieve!