"The Vacuum left results in an explosion of mystics on the one side and sceptics on the other...
what is lost is the truth of the revelation of God in Christ".
Jacques Ellul - The Subversion of Christianity.
Everyday, I watch it fly around and buzz past - the pink bus.
It hurries through my estate to keep it's schedule, rushing hither and yon, passing the rest of us who are about our daily affairs, as you might expect a bus should,
but there is something wrong with this picture.
Around eight out of every ten times that I see this sight, the bus is totally empty -
a bus without passengers!
Doesn't that defeat the entire object?
Now I'm sure that my observations here are invalid (the bus service couldn't afford to run if they were!), but what would it be like to be traveling on a bus which you understood was taking you to a particular destination, but in reality wasn't going anywhere near where you thought?
There is a very popular excursion doing the routes of our world today that tempts many folks aboard. It's advertises itself as 'truth', but the reality is diabolical. The small print on the 'enlightenment' ticket assumes all manner of unwarranted presuppositions - the physical universe is meaningless, progress can only be made by an evolution of mind (spirit) from the 'superstition' of the divine being something above or beyond ourselves, that we must not tolerate the 'ignorance' of a view which makes us more than a highly developed combination of energy.
Once aboard, the magical tour truly begins, with lectures and books and inter-active events which lay out just why 'God' is unnecessary, why 'Jesus' should be viewed through gnostic and not Christian beliefs, why all that really matters is you becoming... you. Occasionally through the window, you are invited to take in the spectacle of a big top tent, where many who 'do' church are giving out a very similar message -
the teaching of the Bible isn't literally true - there was no Adam, no fall, no tie to this world... just do good and the 'god' inside you will do the rest.
The 'buzz' and the 'vibe' is oh so good - rationalism, enlightenment, progress, that most of the passengers fail to note that the radio is playing a very different song ..... "This is the road to Hell".
It's not popular today to de-construct such a nightmare, but a sound understanding of History, Science and Biblical scholarship requires nothing less. This lie is so often viewed as totally compelling, but in reality it is totally miss placed, and merely diverts us from taking a far more important journey...
"It was a wonderful vehicle, blazing with golden light... The greyness outside the windows turned from mud-colour to mother of pearl, then faintest blue, to a brightness that stung the eyes...
I rolled down the window - delicious freshness came in".
C.S.Lewis - The Great Divorce.
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Friday, 11 April 2008
The Spiritual Man
"Christianity is the most materialistic of all religions... The others hope to achieve a spiritual reality by either negating or ignoring matter, calling it illusion (maya) or a minor transition
to something higher... Christianity, focused upon the Incarnation, regards matter as the vehicle truly marked as the instrument of the Spirit". William Temple.
As I walked through the wind, hail and rain today of a typically English "Spring" morning (!), I found myself reflecting on just how good, how right it felt to be dressed in my body. I know we all have moments when being physical is troublesome - aches and pains, stress and illness, but in those moments when our flesh allows us to engage with the world around us properly - even in the heart of a rainstorm - we can re-discover the vivid joy of being alive, of tasting all that 'He has made beautiful in its time', and that is truly wonderful.
It makes me consider eternal life.
Remember how it began, there in the garden - humanity 'naked and unashamed' in rich communion with God and creation. How do we find ourselves feeling when we consider that vision of the first temple?
Does it make us long to be comfortable in our bodies?
The Apostle Paul certainly wants us to consider it well.
In 2 Corinthians, he talks about how this current 'tent', though it perishes in death, will become a 'house' provided by God to clothe us forever. It is when we are thus adorned, he writes, that we will no longer be 'naked' (without an immortal body), but appropriately dressed for the eternal (chapter 5 verses 1-5). This marries with his earlier teaching in 1 Corinthians, where, again, he describes how the mortal, through resurrection, is clothed in immortality (chapter 15).
There is something vital here we have to realize - the body you have is not something discarded forever at death. Yes, it will go into the ground, will become dust, but though it be destroyed in this fashion, 'in this flesh, I will see God' (Job 19:26).
Being clothed in this body - redeemed, renewed and resurrected - is at the very heart of our understanding of redemption. It is because of this reality, notes Paul, that the entire created order is waiting, groaning for the day when this 'glorification' takes place that it to can share in this liberation (Romans 8:20-23).
So, the next time you find yourself smiling as you enjoy the spring weather because you feel 'comfortable' in your frame, think about the garden, about Adam and Eve enjoying that majesty and beauty, and then remember the precious promise that is ours - those days will be seen again.
"Not in another flesh, but in my own shall I be resurrected.
Some think the soul will be clothed with another body, but it would be improper to call that a resurrection.
If the body did not rise again, the believer would not be completely happy, for, though a soul can subsist without the body, yet the desire is always for re-union.
If only the soul exists in heaven, then we are never truly redeemed".
Thomas Watson - A Body of Divinity.
to something higher... Christianity, focused upon the Incarnation, regards matter as the vehicle truly marked as the instrument of the Spirit". William Temple.
As I walked through the wind, hail and rain today of a typically English "Spring" morning (!), I found myself reflecting on just how good, how right it felt to be dressed in my body. I know we all have moments when being physical is troublesome - aches and pains, stress and illness, but in those moments when our flesh allows us to engage with the world around us properly - even in the heart of a rainstorm - we can re-discover the vivid joy of being alive, of tasting all that 'He has made beautiful in its time', and that is truly wonderful.
It makes me consider eternal life.
Remember how it began, there in the garden - humanity 'naked and unashamed' in rich communion with God and creation. How do we find ourselves feeling when we consider that vision of the first temple?
Does it make us long to be comfortable in our bodies?
The Apostle Paul certainly wants us to consider it well.
In 2 Corinthians, he talks about how this current 'tent', though it perishes in death, will become a 'house' provided by God to clothe us forever. It is when we are thus adorned, he writes, that we will no longer be 'naked' (without an immortal body), but appropriately dressed for the eternal (chapter 5 verses 1-5). This marries with his earlier teaching in 1 Corinthians, where, again, he describes how the mortal, through resurrection, is clothed in immortality (chapter 15).
There is something vital here we have to realize - the body you have is not something discarded forever at death. Yes, it will go into the ground, will become dust, but though it be destroyed in this fashion, 'in this flesh, I will see God' (Job 19:26).
Being clothed in this body - redeemed, renewed and resurrected - is at the very heart of our understanding of redemption. It is because of this reality, notes Paul, that the entire created order is waiting, groaning for the day when this 'glorification' takes place that it to can share in this liberation (Romans 8:20-23).
So, the next time you find yourself smiling as you enjoy the spring weather because you feel 'comfortable' in your frame, think about the garden, about Adam and Eve enjoying that majesty and beauty, and then remember the precious promise that is ours - those days will be seen again.
"Not in another flesh, but in my own shall I be resurrected.
Some think the soul will be clothed with another body, but it would be improper to call that a resurrection.
If the body did not rise again, the believer would not be completely happy, for, though a soul can subsist without the body, yet the desire is always for re-union.
If only the soul exists in heaven, then we are never truly redeemed".
Thomas Watson - A Body of Divinity.
Monday, 7 April 2008
The Truly 'Spiritual' world.
"First, they flourished in their regular communion with a God who met them in the heart of a universe pulsating with beauty. Then, they enjoyed the deepest, most un-scared intimacy humans have ever known, and lastly, they knew the great delight of living on a world entirely made 'good'...that is the 'peace' which is evident in God's handiwork".
Paraphrased from Michael Wittmer's 'Heaven is a Place on Earth'.
We can often imagine it would make so much difference...
Encountering 'God' in a fashion that is so 'above and beyond' the normal -
yes, that would do it!
As that entire nation stood on the verge of tragedy, they witnessed just such a miracle...
the deliverance from the tyranny of Egypt, but for most of them, it was of no value.
Soon, they were back to their old ways, harking for the very diminished humanity they had escaped.
We live in a world where so much today is conformed to the moment - the popular view, the current data, the 'right' understanding of exactly who and what we are. How much is actually lost in succumbing to such a situation?
In like tempo, the modern church can so often mimic the very 'spirituality' of those who escaped Egypt - we grasp for God in ways that leave us starved or merely seeking to satiate a miss-placed 'godliness' - hence Paul's vivid reminder of what was and is in 1 Corinthians 10 - but we, like those alienated by unbelief, can be divorced from the God who is here.
We need to realize, as Gerhard Forde so aptly notes, that ' Grace saves nature not by adding something to it, not by raising it to a supposedly higher level, but by allowing it to become what it was intended to be - the good (pleasing) creation'.
In His talk with Nicodemus, Jesus tells us that the 'judgment' which has already fallen is that when 'light' is there, we prefer darkness;
give us the noise of an excited 'signs and wonders' crusade where we can loose ourselves in the 'god' of the moment, but do not give us the blunt reality of baptism, where we become swallowed, with all creation, into Christ's death and resurrection! Speak through the latest prophet of 'peace' or rationality to MY goals and gain, but do not take me to bread and wine, to be joined to God in THAT fashion!
Do we see what is conveyed to us when God's word takes the common and invests this with
the eternal?
God seeks to bring us to a stark reality.
Here, at the heart of time and space, is one who has met us, face to face,
and there, He has stemmed our folly, has acted in a manner we cannot accept, unless He opens our eyes and harries us in!
When the great day comes, how sudden, how astounding, the realization:
God is HERE - heaven is pitched on earth, and we all stand on holy ground!
Paraphrased from Michael Wittmer's 'Heaven is a Place on Earth'.
We can often imagine it would make so much difference...
Encountering 'God' in a fashion that is so 'above and beyond' the normal -
yes, that would do it!
As that entire nation stood on the verge of tragedy, they witnessed just such a miracle...
the deliverance from the tyranny of Egypt, but for most of them, it was of no value.
Soon, they were back to their old ways, harking for the very diminished humanity they had escaped.
We live in a world where so much today is conformed to the moment - the popular view, the current data, the 'right' understanding of exactly who and what we are. How much is actually lost in succumbing to such a situation?
In like tempo, the modern church can so often mimic the very 'spirituality' of those who escaped Egypt - we grasp for God in ways that leave us starved or merely seeking to satiate a miss-placed 'godliness' - hence Paul's vivid reminder of what was and is in 1 Corinthians 10 - but we, like those alienated by unbelief, can be divorced from the God who is here.
We need to realize, as Gerhard Forde so aptly notes, that ' Grace saves nature not by adding something to it, not by raising it to a supposedly higher level, but by allowing it to become what it was intended to be - the good (pleasing) creation'.
In His talk with Nicodemus, Jesus tells us that the 'judgment' which has already fallen is that when 'light' is there, we prefer darkness;
give us the noise of an excited 'signs and wonders' crusade where we can loose ourselves in the 'god' of the moment, but do not give us the blunt reality of baptism, where we become swallowed, with all creation, into Christ's death and resurrection! Speak through the latest prophet of 'peace' or rationality to MY goals and gain, but do not take me to bread and wine, to be joined to God in THAT fashion!
Do we see what is conveyed to us when God's word takes the common and invests this with
the eternal?
God seeks to bring us to a stark reality.
Here, at the heart of time and space, is one who has met us, face to face,
and there, He has stemmed our folly, has acted in a manner we cannot accept, unless He opens our eyes and harries us in!
When the great day comes, how sudden, how astounding, the realization:
God is HERE - heaven is pitched on earth, and we all stand on holy ground!
Friday, 28 March 2008
Living in the New
"He took my hand and led me out between the pillars into the warm sunlight.
We stood in a fair grassy court, with blue fresh sky above; mountain sky.
In the centre of the court was a bath, filled by a clear stream, where many could have swum and played....
The air which came from Psyche's clothes and limbs was wild and sweet.
Joy silenced me". C S Lewis - Till We Have Faces.
It's been there from our moment of great loss onwards - our tendency to obscure or 're-interpret' our relationship to the material world. We're surrounded by schemes and products that encourage us to do that all the time, but few of us really stop to ask why, and is there a much better answer?
In a popular TV show that's been running here in the UK for a few years now, one popular image guru hit upon a truth that the general beauty industry tends to ignore - genuine 'good health' can only begin when we really find a way to become 'happy' about who we really are, which can then become reflected in a confidence about our bodies.
The Christian message (when it's presented well), essentially places us before the mirror of facing essential truths about our nature, our existence and our true purpose. Humans were not made to be 'gods' or worms - our true place is in the life we were meant to inhabit between heaven and earth, rooted to creation, but in fellowship with God. Only here, in that context, can we truly find the 'perfection' that we so deeply crave for our entire nature, body and soul.
The work of God through Jesus Christ has been to reveal His power (grace) in order to destroy that which is unnatural in the order of creation - the evil which tarnishes and corrupts the good made in the beginning. Christ's death and resurrection, then, is the way in which God untangles our inability to be natural (to be what we were created to be) - it allows the natural to be restored, so faith in Christ's work becomes the means whereby we can be re-connected to the life and nature we are intended to know forever.
One of my greatest joys as a photographer is when I see a flowering of confidence and fresh awareness of character appear within a person as a result of 'seeing' themselves afresh through a set of images from a shoot, or in another photographer, taking new steps, because a workshop or discussion has encouraged him or her to do so. That manner of 'making new' is at the very heart of the gift of life which springs from the work of God's Spirit as we trust in Jesus Christ - the living word and bread of heaven.
God is seeking to open our hearts, minds, bodies and souls to the reality of new life, so that whether we our raised up or face trial, in whatever we do, we might know a richness that is never diminished, but grows until that day of new beginnings - the renewal of the cosmos!
We stood in a fair grassy court, with blue fresh sky above; mountain sky.
In the centre of the court was a bath, filled by a clear stream, where many could have swum and played....
The air which came from Psyche's clothes and limbs was wild and sweet.
Joy silenced me". C S Lewis - Till We Have Faces.
It's been there from our moment of great loss onwards - our tendency to obscure or 're-interpret' our relationship to the material world. We're surrounded by schemes and products that encourage us to do that all the time, but few of us really stop to ask why, and is there a much better answer?
In a popular TV show that's been running here in the UK for a few years now, one popular image guru hit upon a truth that the general beauty industry tends to ignore - genuine 'good health' can only begin when we really find a way to become 'happy' about who we really are, which can then become reflected in a confidence about our bodies.
The Christian message (when it's presented well), essentially places us before the mirror of facing essential truths about our nature, our existence and our true purpose. Humans were not made to be 'gods' or worms - our true place is in the life we were meant to inhabit between heaven and earth, rooted to creation, but in fellowship with God. Only here, in that context, can we truly find the 'perfection' that we so deeply crave for our entire nature, body and soul.
The work of God through Jesus Christ has been to reveal His power (grace) in order to destroy that which is unnatural in the order of creation - the evil which tarnishes and corrupts the good made in the beginning. Christ's death and resurrection, then, is the way in which God untangles our inability to be natural (to be what we were created to be) - it allows the natural to be restored, so faith in Christ's work becomes the means whereby we can be re-connected to the life and nature we are intended to know forever.
One of my greatest joys as a photographer is when I see a flowering of confidence and fresh awareness of character appear within a person as a result of 'seeing' themselves afresh through a set of images from a shoot, or in another photographer, taking new steps, because a workshop or discussion has encouraged him or her to do so. That manner of 'making new' is at the very heart of the gift of life which springs from the work of God's Spirit as we trust in Jesus Christ - the living word and bread of heaven.
God is seeking to open our hearts, minds, bodies and souls to the reality of new life, so that whether we our raised up or face trial, in whatever we do, we might know a richness that is never diminished, but grows until that day of new beginnings - the renewal of the cosmos!
Thursday, 20 March 2008
The Wonderous Expression
"At present, we do not see this, but we see Him who for a season was humbled to be lower than the angels - Jesus - now crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death so that by God's grace He might taste death for everyone...
It was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many to glory, should be the author of salvation through such suffering". Hebrews 2:9 & 10.
So there I was, traveling across the beautiful Devon countryside, listening to a friend convey their puzzlement at the 'move-ability' of the feast of Easter, enjoying the lightness of the friendly banter, but already feeling in my depths that THE special moment of the year was about to arrive again - when both the season of nature and the 'moment' often termed holy week had once more merged to convey a truth as deep and as precious as the sweetest pollen on a morning breeze....
Once more my thoughts returned to that moment in the garden when Father, Son and Spirit had acted together in the final creative moment of that first 'holy' week - to make one (male and female) which would express His likeness and Image (note: holy because of God's conclusive 'inhabiting' of the 7th day). Theologians have long pondered in what sense this is true of us, and it may be that all of such answers hold some aspect of the answer, but there is one answer that must be true.
The famous statement of the Westminster Confession speaks of how our purpose is to glorify God and thereby enjoy Him forever, to fulfill the greatest commandment, but tied to this is the other great command - to love each other. When we look upon the temple of God's handiwork structured and then furnished in the work of creation, we view the realm where we are intended to be 'priests and kings' - those responsible for living a life toward God and each other that will indeed express the 'beauty of holiness' by the fact that all of this was made good and is meant to be used well. We can so often seek God in all the wrong places, when He wishes us to invest reality into the soil beneath our feet, the handiwork of our hands, the passion of our hearts.
Good Friday is a day when we can begin to comprehend the breadth, height and depth of God's love for us and the world He has made - that Christ came, suffered and died to remove the stain of our folly of seeking to be gods and becoming less than human. We can indeed look upon Jesus and see the new beginning; the one which so clearly speaks of the world in which there will be no more sin and sickness, suffering or sorrow, but a glorious eternity of life marked by love and joy in His care.
Come and dine - taste and see, that the wine of His mercy, the bread of His provision, will make your soul assured, and your face to shine..!
Sola Deo Gloria.
It was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many to glory, should be the author of salvation through such suffering". Hebrews 2:9 & 10.
So there I was, traveling across the beautiful Devon countryside, listening to a friend convey their puzzlement at the 'move-ability' of the feast of Easter, enjoying the lightness of the friendly banter, but already feeling in my depths that THE special moment of the year was about to arrive again - when both the season of nature and the 'moment' often termed holy week had once more merged to convey a truth as deep and as precious as the sweetest pollen on a morning breeze....
Once more my thoughts returned to that moment in the garden when Father, Son and Spirit had acted together in the final creative moment of that first 'holy' week - to make one (male and female) which would express His likeness and Image (note: holy because of God's conclusive 'inhabiting' of the 7th day). Theologians have long pondered in what sense this is true of us, and it may be that all of such answers hold some aspect of the answer, but there is one answer that must be true.
The famous statement of the Westminster Confession speaks of how our purpose is to glorify God and thereby enjoy Him forever, to fulfill the greatest commandment, but tied to this is the other great command - to love each other. When we look upon the temple of God's handiwork structured and then furnished in the work of creation, we view the realm where we are intended to be 'priests and kings' - those responsible for living a life toward God and each other that will indeed express the 'beauty of holiness' by the fact that all of this was made good and is meant to be used well. We can so often seek God in all the wrong places, when He wishes us to invest reality into the soil beneath our feet, the handiwork of our hands, the passion of our hearts.
Good Friday is a day when we can begin to comprehend the breadth, height and depth of God's love for us and the world He has made - that Christ came, suffered and died to remove the stain of our folly of seeking to be gods and becoming less than human. We can indeed look upon Jesus and see the new beginning; the one which so clearly speaks of the world in which there will be no more sin and sickness, suffering or sorrow, but a glorious eternity of life marked by love and joy in His care.
Come and dine - taste and see, that the wine of His mercy, the bread of His provision, will make your soul assured, and your face to shine..!
Sola Deo Gloria.
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Seeing Well
"Be as interested in as many things as possible (because that still won't be enough to satiate your need for 'connection' to create good art). Fill your day and your mind and your surroundings with curiosity - ask questions of everybody and about everything...be a 'limitless' person to others - don't hide your ignorance, for this is simply the unlit side of curiosity and the outside door to wisdom and knowledge". Hans Rookmaaker.
It's something photography has taught me so well - how little I really see and how much I really miss.
We all know that by using light, our eyes take information from the world around us to allow us to perceive and engage with what we then deem to be the 'real' world, but the reality is that we are often pretty lax, even careless about how we employ and use this wonder that we actually miss a great deal. Our ignorance begins very close to home - concerning the eye itself.
Recent research has revealed that far from being just a 'lens' to see through, the retina is in fact an external piece of brain tissue which has more computational ability than today's most sophisticated super computers! This capability allows the eye to complete intelligent, highly constructive processes regarding the world well before the information is passed through into the brain itself for further processing.
Every morning when we wake, most of us have the ability to employ this tool as our first means of exploring the world with questions, but we tend to switch to 'safe' mode, eat our toast as we listen to the weather report, and generally live life the same way we did yesterday.
The reality, however, is that life is never that two dimensional. There is far more going on if we are prepared to 'lift the rug' and take a closer look - if we move beyond our usual comfort zones.
Art can move us because it seeks to do just that - it seeks to paint on a broad canvas (thereby causing us to quickly take notice) words and images that seek to express something 'larger' about the reality of our being here, and such questions, thoughts and impressions resonate with each of us because we know we were designed to 'see' at such a level.
As a Christian, I believe there is a similarity between the power of our eyes to connect us to reality and the gift of faith. Faith can so often be seen as something passive - a statement on a page that we assent to in some dusty corner of our thoughts - but real faith disturbs and provokes us, inspires and challenges us, keeps us awake at all hours as we ponder some wonder. Faith is not afraid to 'dance in the rain', explore the tiniest atomic particle or stand bare before the glory of a sunset, for in all of this and much more, it can indeed 'see' a greater wisdom.
As Easter draws near, we need to re-discover both the world around us, and the 'deeper' world which whispers through what we observe.
It's something photography has taught me so well - how little I really see and how much I really miss.
We all know that by using light, our eyes take information from the world around us to allow us to perceive and engage with what we then deem to be the 'real' world, but the reality is that we are often pretty lax, even careless about how we employ and use this wonder that we actually miss a great deal. Our ignorance begins very close to home - concerning the eye itself.
Recent research has revealed that far from being just a 'lens' to see through, the retina is in fact an external piece of brain tissue which has more computational ability than today's most sophisticated super computers! This capability allows the eye to complete intelligent, highly constructive processes regarding the world well before the information is passed through into the brain itself for further processing.
Every morning when we wake, most of us have the ability to employ this tool as our first means of exploring the world with questions, but we tend to switch to 'safe' mode, eat our toast as we listen to the weather report, and generally live life the same way we did yesterday.
The reality, however, is that life is never that two dimensional. There is far more going on if we are prepared to 'lift the rug' and take a closer look - if we move beyond our usual comfort zones.
Art can move us because it seeks to do just that - it seeks to paint on a broad canvas (thereby causing us to quickly take notice) words and images that seek to express something 'larger' about the reality of our being here, and such questions, thoughts and impressions resonate with each of us because we know we were designed to 'see' at such a level.
As a Christian, I believe there is a similarity between the power of our eyes to connect us to reality and the gift of faith. Faith can so often be seen as something passive - a statement on a page that we assent to in some dusty corner of our thoughts - but real faith disturbs and provokes us, inspires and challenges us, keeps us awake at all hours as we ponder some wonder. Faith is not afraid to 'dance in the rain', explore the tiniest atomic particle or stand bare before the glory of a sunset, for in all of this and much more, it can indeed 'see' a greater wisdom.
As Easter draws near, we need to re-discover both the world around us, and the 'deeper' world which whispers through what we observe.
Friday, 7 March 2008
A world going nowhere...?
"Life isn't easy
Love never lasts
You just carry on
And keep moving fast"
From 'Cry Like A Rainstorm' by Linda Ronstadt.
It's pretty easy these days to despair - both on a personal and social level - about the state of life on this world. Everyday brings yet more stories of misery, pain, woe and despair. It seems that everyone is either enveloped in such hurt or moving as fast as they can in 'eat, drink and be merry' mode to try and keep away from it, but life tugs us into trial whatever we do. If it's not happening to us personally right now, it's happening to someone close. Sit down with most people for a couple of minutes who want to talk, and you'll be stunned by what most of us carry on our backs most of the time...we really are a race standing on the cliff edge with a gale rising behind.
It's easy for us, especially when in pain, to be spiteful about such a plight - we can all to easily become a mob all wanting to scramble higher - but we know that's not the answer. In those moments when life is kinder, we reveal another side to what it means to be human - one marked by care, affection, and a delight in all that is genuinely good - that is what resides beneath the 'rags' of our more "burnt out" experiences.
In a world slashed and torn by the wound of sin, it's important we understand that the pearls of our experience (some of which are forged and honed by the very pain we know) are of eternal value, for they indeed speak of a life we are meant to know - forever.
When Christ looked upon the mass of the 'walking wounded' (you and me), He felt compassion for us - a love that had brought God here as man to live and die to show that there is more, far more to life than we often comprehend amidst the mire. Christ implores us to look up, to look through those moments of wonder and beauty we encounter to see the one behind such marvels and realize that there is an answer to the bleakness - a solution which will result in a new creation, where all of life is marked by grace and peace.
In those moments when you sense awe in your soul, pause and reflect on this.
Love never lasts
You just carry on
And keep moving fast"
From 'Cry Like A Rainstorm' by Linda Ronstadt.
It's pretty easy these days to despair - both on a personal and social level - about the state of life on this world. Everyday brings yet more stories of misery, pain, woe and despair. It seems that everyone is either enveloped in such hurt or moving as fast as they can in 'eat, drink and be merry' mode to try and keep away from it, but life tugs us into trial whatever we do. If it's not happening to us personally right now, it's happening to someone close. Sit down with most people for a couple of minutes who want to talk, and you'll be stunned by what most of us carry on our backs most of the time...we really are a race standing on the cliff edge with a gale rising behind.
It's easy for us, especially when in pain, to be spiteful about such a plight - we can all to easily become a mob all wanting to scramble higher - but we know that's not the answer. In those moments when life is kinder, we reveal another side to what it means to be human - one marked by care, affection, and a delight in all that is genuinely good - that is what resides beneath the 'rags' of our more "burnt out" experiences.
In a world slashed and torn by the wound of sin, it's important we understand that the pearls of our experience (some of which are forged and honed by the very pain we know) are of eternal value, for they indeed speak of a life we are meant to know - forever.
When Christ looked upon the mass of the 'walking wounded' (you and me), He felt compassion for us - a love that had brought God here as man to live and die to show that there is more, far more to life than we often comprehend amidst the mire. Christ implores us to look up, to look through those moments of wonder and beauty we encounter to see the one behind such marvels and realize that there is an answer to the bleakness - a solution which will result in a new creation, where all of life is marked by grace and peace.
In those moments when you sense awe in your soul, pause and reflect on this.
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