Reinterpretation

Reinterpretation is a skill I've developed because, turns out, Julius Caesar isn't the most accessible text for high school sophomores.  Truly, August through May I spent most of my time pushing and pulling information in various directions hoping that parts of it will make sense before my students step out of my classroom into the great unknown otherwise known as their junior year.

It's a rough job.  And by rough, I mean amusing.  Particularly since I recently realized that reinterpretation has become a completely internal response to outside stimuli.

Take, for example, Nike's catchphrase, "Just Do It."  My reinterpretation went something like this:

Just Do It...if you have enough energy.
Just Do It...if you're capable.
Just Do It...if you don't have anything else better to do.
Just Do It...when it's most convenient.

Thankfully, I didn't have to "do it"--whatever "it" might have been--because I was tired, overtaxed, overwhelmed, exhausted and extremely busy.  And all that reinterpretation meant I could completely disregard the orders of my least favorite shoe company.

But that whole "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" thing was a little harder.  So I largely ignored that verse until I came face to face with an unavoidable blockade.

Diet and exercise were not unavoidable.  They were for people who had more time and talent than I actually possessed.  So eventually, I reinterpreted that verse to "I can do all things at which I am gifted and talented through Christ who strengthens me."

That Jesus.  He's a great and talented Saviour who is willing to work through the gifts He gives us.  A lack of talent just means we're off the proverbial hook.  So even though I watched what I was eating, I didn't need to exercise because, well, running?  Not my forte.

But trust in all circumstances?  That's a whole different pizza.  (I think food analogies work best for posts about diet and exercise.  Don't you?)  If I professed Jesus capable of doing things in my life through His strength, then He would be most glorified through that which I was completely incapable of doing on my own.  Right?

So, like Paul, I'm learning to glory in my weakness--which is counterintuitive.  (Reinterpretation often means I'm not just capable, I'm a talented genius.)  But I keep thinking that the renewing of my mind doesn't just mean that I believe God can (Romans 12:2).  I now believe God can through me.  That, ladies and gentlemen (namely my dad and my brother--the only men who read my blog), is reinterpretation at its best.

And he "who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us" is going to be most glorified through things I never could have accomplished on my own (Ephesians 3:20).

To Him be the glory.