I am a person who is dependent on the grammar and spelling skills of others. For my entire educational career, I have been oppressed by the fear of public shaming when asked to write in front of anyone. The multiple-choice or T or F tests were not as stressful. But, WOW, I panicked when I had to give an essay answer.
I never had an English Class that I didn’t dread or fear, not in high school, college, or graduate school.
When it comes to sentence structure, the names applied to parts of speech seemed arbitrary to me. Those terms have little to no application other than the function of the word in a sentence. I am a guy who learns best by looking at pictures. In general, words don’t have “definitions” for me; they have stories and pictures that I can relate to. A “verb” is an action word. So why not just call them “action words?” Is there another place in English where the word “verb” can be used in a sentence not related to grammar?”
Then add another word in front of it, such as “transitive.” Or compound my dilemma with “Intransitive.” My mind is almost incapable of gathering a picture or story of what an “intransitive verb” means; I just can’t see it. To me, it is a word that could be from a non-English world. I have no reference place from which to build an understanding of what the grammar teacher was eloquently articulating.
I was researching for another blog writing when I came upon the term “intransitive verb.” The old frustration flared up, so I took off hunting on the web for the meaning of “intransitive.” It was time to give one more try to learn something new or renewed. I found thousands of descriptions of its “use,” but only one of what the word means, in its root word etymology.
From http://www.etymonline.com
transitive(adj.) 1570s, in grammar, of verbs, “taking a direct object,” 1570s (implied intransitively), from Late Latin transitivus (Priscian) “transitive,” literally “passing over (to another person),” from transire “cross over, go over, pass over, hasten over, pass away,” from trans “across, beyond” (see trans-) + ire “to go” (from PIE root *ei- “to go”).
In the general sense of “having the power of passing into something, characterized by or involving transition” in any sense, by 1610s. As a noun, “a transitive verb,” by 1610s. Related: Transitiveness; transitivity.
And that got me thinking. If there are “transitive verbs” could there be “transitive Christians”? If so, a “TC” would be a follower of Jesus Christ who “passes over” Jesus’ example of self-sacrifice for his followers and his calling them to be his catalytic presence in the messiness of contemporary culture. They instead plead for comfort and personal fulfilment, a taste of heaven in a distasteful or tasteless society. They dream of going to heaven rather than displaying the “Heavenly” now. They endure the madness of today because they believe a better day is coming. TCs fear and seek to avoid the darkness rather than walk by faith in the light.
Transitive Christians seek the help of Jesus rather than to be the help of Jesus. They feel helpless and frozen in the complex problems surrounding them and within them. They seek outside Divine intervention without a thought that they, themselves, are God’s resources to diminish the brutality of living in a Fallen society.
Christians are not the solution to what ails the world. But they follow the One who is. Christians are remade in God’s image. Thus, they are “action words” of the Creator who woos His creation back home. We are the witnesses of Jesus Christ. It is not what we say that will help our neighbors; it is who we are, everywhere we are, and all the time we are. It’s not where we will end up that matters. It matters that we allow Jesus Christ to be our liberated life today.
Don’t waste your Christian living today just because it is difficult or painful. Life is supposed to be painful today; this life is in a death spiral! Being light in this dark and deadly world is our calling, our purpose, and even our joy.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16, CSB)
Photo – Mountain goat taken on the Highway to the Sun in Glacier National Park in Montana.
Baldwin Heirlooms 