Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Oh, Great Love!
I’ve contemplated bitterly long the task of mustering something of nothing. All along I have known that I am something. Even if it be true that I am something terrible, or something miniscule in comparison to something else, I assuredly am something. Who can deny it? The very thought that I am something proves, at the very least, that I am something other than nothing. In speculation, I also had to accept that I was something that came from something else. This undeniable truth is repeated throughout nature. No matter where you look, you will see something coming from something else, but nowhere will you see something of nothing.
I’ve been aware of this mystery ever since I was young. I knew that it must be possible for something to come out of nothing, or else something would never be. The world would be nothing, and if this was true, the world simply could not be. I tested my theory by trying to make something out of nothing. I flexed my eyes and strained my brain. With incredible focus, with all might and concentration, I spent my mind entirely on the hope of making something out of nothing. Alas! My effort was in vain, something of nothing never came.
Oh, Great Love!
The voice of a Spirit,
the strength with no frame,
is the power that made
what cannot be contained.
And the voice, the strength,
and the power displayed, entirely aware
of the risk and the pain,
is the working hand of Great Love.
Great Love made the bed
of celestial heights,
full of stars extending
beyond endless sight.
Great Love shaped the earth,
and so lavished it lush,
in the depth of each leaf,
in the water’s sweet rush.
Great Love sowed the breath
all His creatures reap
in the air of the sky
and the leagues of the deep.
From the heart of the worm
to the creation of man,
to the depths of a Soul— Oh, Great Love!
From nothing, you’ve made Love,
Love with no end.
I’ve been aware of this mystery ever since I was young. I knew that it must be possible for something to come out of nothing, or else something would never be. The world would be nothing, and if this was true, the world simply could not be. I tested my theory by trying to make something out of nothing. I flexed my eyes and strained my brain. With incredible focus, with all might and concentration, I spent my mind entirely on the hope of making something out of nothing. Alas! My effort was in vain, something of nothing never came.
Oh, Great Love!
The voice of a Spirit,
the strength with no frame,
is the power that made
what cannot be contained.
And the voice, the strength,
and the power displayed, entirely aware
of the risk and the pain,
is the working hand of Great Love.
Great Love made the bed
of celestial heights,
full of stars extending
beyond endless sight.
Great Love shaped the earth,
and so lavished it lush,
in the depth of each leaf,
in the water’s sweet rush.
Great Love sowed the breath
all His creatures reap
in the air of the sky
and the leagues of the deep.
From the heart of the worm
to the creation of man,
to the depths of a Soul— Oh, Great Love!
From nothing, you’ve made Love,
Love with no end.
Monday, February 15, 2010
God's will or Our will?
Christians will agree that God is good. However, I think if you asked a bunch of Christians why God is good, you would get varying answers, especially if you were looking for some sort of justification. Forget the answers though, let’s look at the questions we all have. If God, our creator, is good, doesn’t he want us to be a part of his goodness? Can we really be a part of God’s goodness if we deny everything about ourselves? Jesus made it pretty clear that we have to lose our lives to save them, but why? Is every desire and longing of ours evil? This cannot possibly be true if God is good, for wasn’t it our very selves that longed for God, and still longs for Him now? Perhaps it is our spirit that longs for God, but if this is the case, then how can we follow God? How can we separate the longings of our flesh from the longings of our God given spirit?
This dilemma complicates itself further when we drag in the topic of pleasure, or to use a less suggestive word, enjoyment. If God is good, he most definitely is the creator of our own positive experiences, feelings, and relationships in the world. To suggest that pleasure (or enjoyment) is evil is to slap God in the face! Can we really deny ourselves and all our desires without denying God Himself? At some point, isn’t denying oneself equivalent to denying the desire to do God’s will? God promises great joy in following His will, but surely this does not translate to mean that everything that is joyful or feels good to experience is automatically a part of His will.
I suppose we can quite easily remedy this problem by simply denying every part of ourselves unless we have full confidence that we are aligned with God’s will. But then what do we do when God has made no clear revelation of His will regarding any particular topic? Are we free to do anything so long as it doesn’t prevent or hinder us from doing the bit of God’s will that he has made known?
I think I have found my peace, though I imagine the reader will be lost by this jump, but I am really writing for myself. Incredibly, God has instilled in me (and I believe in you as well) an answer that satisfies the struggle that I have been trying to develop in these past few paragraphs. The truth is this: God has let some part of His will be known to us! No matter how small or broad, God has put opportunities before us to work for Him. When we are responsible in pursuing and following what He has put before us, he will give us more responsibility, more direction, and more revelation.
We seem to have a tendency to want to know ALL of God’s plans for our lives before we carry out the ones he has clearly placed before us. Why? Probably because we still have our OWN plans in mind, and we’re hoping they match the plans God has chosen not to reveal to us.
The devil knows how to use our own desires against us quite well. He knows that if we are committed to pursuing God’s will, he needs to deceive us into thinking our selfish desires are a part of God’s will. He knows he needs to confuse us, disorient us from our certainty in following God, and get us doubting the plans that God has chosen to NOT FULLY reveal to us. The devil knows that he has to get us justifying our own desires as being “not outside” the will of God. He is quite the deceiver, and has proved beyond capable of such deceptive acts.
Is this really an answer to the tension that exists between our will and the will of God? Partially. The ambiguity still exists. It is still hard to trust God’s plans when we can much more easily create our own and see the end they come to. Perhaps denying ourselves (beyond denying the obvious sins) is no more than denying ourselves the right to decide what will become of our lives. This is different than denying our every desire. Rather, it is putting our desires into God’s hands, and letting Him DO WHAT HE WILLS with them, always trusting that his judgment on such matters is much better than our own, and his power to make things happen is much stronger than our own. We do not need to be the initiators in these difficult situations: when God’s will is unclear. We can let God be the initiator, always trusting Him for the best.
Listen to Him, be patient, don't force things. God won't leave you hanging. If you don't trust me on this one, Trust Him.
Conclusion: to obey is better than sacrifice. Complete denial of self is not what God created us for. He created us to experience relationship with Him. In this fallen world, that means reversing the first sin, and trusting God over ourselves for what’s best. When we do this, we can recognize every good thing as God given, we can see hope in every hardship, and we can rejoice in all situations, for we are fulfilling the very purpose we have been created for: to be in relationship with God.
This dilemma complicates itself further when we drag in the topic of pleasure, or to use a less suggestive word, enjoyment. If God is good, he most definitely is the creator of our own positive experiences, feelings, and relationships in the world. To suggest that pleasure (or enjoyment) is evil is to slap God in the face! Can we really deny ourselves and all our desires without denying God Himself? At some point, isn’t denying oneself equivalent to denying the desire to do God’s will? God promises great joy in following His will, but surely this does not translate to mean that everything that is joyful or feels good to experience is automatically a part of His will.
I suppose we can quite easily remedy this problem by simply denying every part of ourselves unless we have full confidence that we are aligned with God’s will. But then what do we do when God has made no clear revelation of His will regarding any particular topic? Are we free to do anything so long as it doesn’t prevent or hinder us from doing the bit of God’s will that he has made known?
I think I have found my peace, though I imagine the reader will be lost by this jump, but I am really writing for myself. Incredibly, God has instilled in me (and I believe in you as well) an answer that satisfies the struggle that I have been trying to develop in these past few paragraphs. The truth is this: God has let some part of His will be known to us! No matter how small or broad, God has put opportunities before us to work for Him. When we are responsible in pursuing and following what He has put before us, he will give us more responsibility, more direction, and more revelation.
We seem to have a tendency to want to know ALL of God’s plans for our lives before we carry out the ones he has clearly placed before us. Why? Probably because we still have our OWN plans in mind, and we’re hoping they match the plans God has chosen not to reveal to us.
The devil knows how to use our own desires against us quite well. He knows that if we are committed to pursuing God’s will, he needs to deceive us into thinking our selfish desires are a part of God’s will. He knows he needs to confuse us, disorient us from our certainty in following God, and get us doubting the plans that God has chosen to NOT FULLY reveal to us. The devil knows that he has to get us justifying our own desires as being “not outside” the will of God. He is quite the deceiver, and has proved beyond capable of such deceptive acts.
Is this really an answer to the tension that exists between our will and the will of God? Partially. The ambiguity still exists. It is still hard to trust God’s plans when we can much more easily create our own and see the end they come to. Perhaps denying ourselves (beyond denying the obvious sins) is no more than denying ourselves the right to decide what will become of our lives. This is different than denying our every desire. Rather, it is putting our desires into God’s hands, and letting Him DO WHAT HE WILLS with them, always trusting that his judgment on such matters is much better than our own, and his power to make things happen is much stronger than our own. We do not need to be the initiators in these difficult situations: when God’s will is unclear. We can let God be the initiator, always trusting Him for the best.
Listen to Him, be patient, don't force things. God won't leave you hanging. If you don't trust me on this one, Trust Him.
Conclusion: to obey is better than sacrifice. Complete denial of self is not what God created us for. He created us to experience relationship with Him. In this fallen world, that means reversing the first sin, and trusting God over ourselves for what’s best. When we do this, we can recognize every good thing as God given, we can see hope in every hardship, and we can rejoice in all situations, for we are fulfilling the very purpose we have been created for: to be in relationship with God.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Rain is Deep
The bodies fall like drops of rain. We’ll block the pelts with an umbrella, sometimes covering the head of a neighbor or friend, but not very concerned about stopping the drops from falling. Of course, it is a ridiculous thing to strive for, that is, saving drops of rain from falling from the sky. There are so many, and no amount of effort would ever suffice. And really, what is the point?
Isn’t it the same with people then? There are countless falling, most of whom go unseen by little old me. Even when I hold out my hands, they slide around my palms, hang from my knuckles— grow heavy, and drip off to the ground.
And there is something very soothing about sitting beneath the tree and staying dry, knowing I am safe as the members of the sky splatter the ground. There is an awful bunch of life in one drop though. Have you ever seen the rock-bottom force, how the collision annihilates
every
single
drop?
I imagine there are some who have opted not to stay dry. The drops will soak into their clothes, their hair, and even the pores of their skin, and wonder who sent their savior.
And they say that if you run you hit more drops.
Isn’t it the same with people then? There are countless falling, most of whom go unseen by little old me. Even when I hold out my hands, they slide around my palms, hang from my knuckles— grow heavy, and drip off to the ground.
And there is something very soothing about sitting beneath the tree and staying dry, knowing I am safe as the members of the sky splatter the ground. There is an awful bunch of life in one drop though. Have you ever seen the rock-bottom force, how the collision annihilates
every
single
drop?
I imagine there are some who have opted not to stay dry. The drops will soak into their clothes, their hair, and even the pores of their skin, and wonder who sent their savior.
And they say that if you run you hit more drops.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)