Transparency June 24, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 2commentsThis is definitely an issue of online-dom. In real life, we can hide some things — and hide them quite effectively and for years. But online, we can hide things forever, especially from the people who only know us online. It’s possible that when I’m IMing someone, they’ll pick up that I’m not in a great mood or whatever… but the people who pick up on those things are generally the ones who know me and see me all the time anyway, and have a very good idea of how I ought to sound.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Edith Schaeffer wrote about how our lives (especially in families) should be like doors — having hinges so that they can be open to others, but also having locks so that, at times, we can be alone.
But it’s not necessarily a good thing, either. In Ephesians 5, Paul talks about wicked deeds which the world does. Then he goes on to say, “…now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” We are not going to be doing a very good job exposing the “unfruitful works of darkness” if we are trying to keep parts of our own life out of the light!
Then our task, as Christians, is to fulfill what Paul then tells us to do in verses 15 and 16: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” What is “the best use of time”? What should we spend our time on? If we put no restraints on what we are sharing, is that really what is most helpful? Or are we going to the opposite extreme of the “Stained Glass Masquerade” which Casting Crowns sings about?
…So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see themAre we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain?
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade… …But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to beWould your arms be open?
Or would you walk away?
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay?…I think I’ve been blessed with friends — both in real life and online — who hold me accountable to be real. And a benefit of being homeschooled (*grins*) is that it’s awfully hard to be someone around your family and someone else at school. Antion wrote about this. (He is so helpful in doing this sort of thing; I’m editing it slightly for clarity.) “You know, sometimes I wonder how much I should actually write in here. I mean, like I said, my life should be open for everyone to see, critique, attack, etc? But is this the way to do it? I don’t know. There are just some things, I wonder what will happen once I put them on here. What will people think? But then again should I worry about that?” He has been enabled to be transparent — at least with those who are close to him — about his life because of the very thing that he used as a header on an old blog. “My life… for Him.”
Ultimately, that’s what ought to be enabling all of us to have lives in the light. Knowing, as the Heidelberg Catechism put it, “That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.”
Wow. I… am not my own… all things must be subservient to my salvation… sincerely willing and ready… to live unto him.
James Ward sings about it beautifully. Unfortunately, his music is really hard to find. Fortunately, I found it online. Listen to it. :) Go to: http://www.newcityfellowship.com/music.html
and then, in the little music box, click on “I Belong to You.” Enjoy.
So I’ll be striving to keep my life in Him, something that can be transparent without me wincing. And, of course, looking forward to the day when the end result will be brought about… something like what Tolkien wrote about.
But to the wizard’s eye there was a faint change, just a hint as it were of transparency, about him…
“Still that must be expected,” said Gandalf to himself. “He is not half through yet, and to what he will come in the end not even Elrond can foretell. Not to evil, I think. He may become like a glass filled with a clear light for eyes to see that can.”
Maybe This World is a Barren Place June 17, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 5commentsWatch this to get started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfeXxkbgCVE
It is rather mind-boggling how many people we walk past every day with problems. That we have no idea… and barely even notice that they’re there.
That bothers me.
On the other hand, it’s a good thing that we don’t have those glasses. It would be far too easy to become overwhelmed at the needs and despair, or become overwhelmed and grow cold to them.
Still.
Relient K was onto something with their song Give Until There’s Nothing Left. And Pastor M is big on the same point. Are we planning to rust and fall apart in God’s service — being unused? Or are we going to fall apart because we wear out?
What scares me rather more than all the people in Wal*Mart I walk past, not knowing nor really caring, what their problems are, is when I wonder what’s going on with the people I think I do know.
It comes back to Steve Garber’s line that I remember a lot: “Only connect.” I can’t connect with everyone… that makes me sad. But I love connections (in pretty much all areas of life!) and when I have them, I want to figure out what is making people tick; what we have in common, what we have that we disagree on but can talk about without killing each other. (Always a desirable thing, I think!)
The song Real by Plumb made me think about one of the times where I’ve seen how miserably connections failed.
…Well be pleased world
If this is what you wanted
This young girl is everything that you made
What will she say
Aren’t I lovely?
And do you want me? cause
I am hungry for something that will make me real
Can you see me? and
Do you love me? cause
I am desperately searching for something
Real…
Some people I know have accused me of reacting too violently and with too much shock to sinful behaviors. It does tend to shock me when people sin. That is kind of surprising in itself, since I do believe in total depravity. Still. When I find out that a girl who came to a VBS where I was working has been pregnant, it jolts me. It makes me wonder where the connections broke down, between what we taught at VBS and how it’s been lived out. I remember talking and laughing with her, hearing about her escapades in cooking chicken on their grill… perfectly ordinary things. And now I see her looking for love in so many wrong places, and that hurts.
It is part of living in a fallen world; things hurt. But growing accustomed to them being that way cannot be a good thing. Jesus had compassion on the people whom He saw when they were being led astray. Compassion doesn’t make life easy, but who said that life is supposed to be easy? The Princess Bride is hardly an oft-quoted theological source, but Westley does have a point. “Life is pain… anyone who says differently is selling something.”
Jesus, it should be noted, did not promise that life wouldn’t be painful. Instead, He said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
In Romans 12, Paul tells us how we are about to be overcoming. He wrote, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
The very imagery of “overcoming” suggests something hard, that we have to wrestle for, fight for, and possibly die for.
thumbs out on a desert road I am told
leads to nowhere
any shade is as good as the next
if your shadow doesn’t go thereweek seven: Did you really assume
I’d find some solace from the letter in your room?
next life, could you kindly refrain
from throwing yourself at the mercy of a train?
silence all, nobody breathe
how in the world could you just leave?
you promised you would
silence that evil with good
hear me out, I have the floor
I’ll give you my tears, I’ll listen more
you promised you would
overcome evil with good
maybe this world is a barren place for a soul
prone to get lost
but heaven still hounds from the smallest sounds
to the cries of the storm-tossed
week nine: I am writing in the sand
any little clue that could help me understand
every whispered secret, every muffled sigh
every half-truth that was added to a lie
silence all, nobody move
I’ve got to know now what you hoped to prove
you promised you would
silence that evil with good
shame feeds guilt, guilt needs release
you took it to God
you made your peace
and swore that you would
overcome evil with good
every old demon playing back the crime
if they needed blood, I’d have gladly given mine
a Child of the Kingdom; still an invalid
forgive her, please Father
she don’t know what she did
silence all, now go to sleep
the water’s free, the well is deep
how can we return
that which we never could earn?
God, I long to see her face
we haven’t a hope
beyond Your grace
I know that You will
overcome evil
for good
[Newboys, Elle G]
They nailed it. Our only hope for overcoming the evil and the pain which we see in the world all around us is the grace of God. But it is a sure hope. And we are called to be ambassadors of that hope as God works through us to bring it to the world.
To do that, we need to know people.
God calls us to a very messy life, but the reward is great.
So keep your eyes open for what is going on in other people. I know this was sort of long, and disconnected, for which I apologize. If you have ideas on ways to make this post flow better, let me know. And if there is something that I ought to be doing to connect, but am not, let me know.
God promises a love that makes us real and overcomes the barrenness of this world, offering hope to “souls prone to get lost”.
Isaiah 54
1 “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
7 For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “This is like the days of Noah to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,
your gates of carbuncles,
and all your wall of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 If anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
16 Behold, I have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals
and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”
I am so glad that I’m homeschooled. May 14, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 2commentsI know that I keep saying that. But reasons keep coming up.
Tonight it was the one girl talking at youth group… “Yeah, he flunked the drug test at school. I told him he would. He was smoking weed.”
Er… yeah.
Enough said.
Pleading the Fifth May 13, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 1 comment so farI was looking at some things I had written a while ago. It’s incredible how often doing that leads me to wonder if I used to be smarter. Really. I had been writing about those sort of situations which don’t really seem to have any good sort of resolution and the best thing to do appears to be walking away. (This sort of reminds me of Mr. Bean’s Holiday, where he sloshes coffee all over the other guy’s laptop and just goes on his merry way. Ibey finds this outrageous. But I digress.)
Anyway, at the time — about a year ago — I had come to the conclusion that there are situations when we don’t have a right to remain silent.
These occasions probably fall into basically two categories.
1) When we are called to speak to someone about something which is wrong in their lives.
2) When we are called to thank someone for something they did right.
Biblical basis for the first would be found in Ezekiel 33:1-9 and James 5:19-20 and various other places.
For the second point, I’m going to call into play a verse which I love a lot. You probably shouldn’t ask what called it to my attention just… because. Okay. I’ve warned you. Anyway, here it is: Proverbs 3:27. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
I decided that it would be fun to try putting that verse into action. Because a lot of times I owe some sort of good to people and far too easily withhold it. Not good. But it was fun when I tried applying it to real life. Hey, I thought one night, I was having fun talking with Meredith. I should thank Samwise for introducing us. Then after a minute another thought struck me (much like the thoughts on the Vogon planet, for those who have watched Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — props to Andúnë and Griffin). Anya, quit procrastinating, said thought #2. You’re online and you have Sam’s email address. Shoot him off a quick thank you. Thought #3, I’m afraid, pointed out that this would look rather goofy. Fortunately, Samwise is already rather well acquainted with my goofiness, and I didn’t think it would bother him. It didn’t.
So… think about it. Where do you not have the right to remain silent? Mordecai made it obvious to Esther that God had appointed her to the position where she was for a reason, not to be quiet.
And then do it. God has put you where you are for a purpose. To be a witness.
Giving What We Cannot Keep April 29, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 2commentsWe watched Beyond the Gates of Splendor the other night. I highly recommend it. It’s a sort of documentary of the lives and deaths and work of five missionaries in Ecuador, of whom Jim Elliot is probably the best known. It has some fascinating interviews with the missionaries’ widows, friends, and those who killed them. (I had the privilege of meeting both Mincaye and Steve Saint — you’ll get to see both of them and learn about who they are if you watch Beyond the Gates.) There’s also a lot of actual footage, which is very cool.
That whole story is one which amazingly illustrates how a few people who will give up everything can be used by God to make huge differences. Differences which leave the world in a state of shocked awe, and can clearly have only been worked by God, “Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”. (Ephesians 3:20)
We have been seeing that in our devotions at home, where we’ve been studying the Old Testament. Even when Judah had fallen far from obedience to God, one faithful king — such as Hezekiah — brought about incredible change and reform.
So what will God do in our lives — with our lives — if we will be totally faithful to Him? The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” What if we lived every moment asking, “What will glorify God the most?” (Incidentally, I’m sure that is what we were to learn from the Missionary Preparedness Test with its challenge of obeying our parents for a year — every time, immediately, exactly, and cheerfully.) Are we ready to obey God in everything which He asks of us, immediately, exactly, and cheerfully?
What if that means dying? Living to please Him, and then dying? To be honest, that scares me. I think it would be awesome, but it it still scares me. That’s okay, though. you can be scared in yourself and still trusting outside yourself at the same time.
And now for some thoughts from other heads…
Aaron Shust: “I will wait for Your plan to unfold… I know that I owe You my life… You watch over me/through the darkest valley… I love You more than life itself…” (various songs from Whispered and Shouted)
King David: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” (Psalm 23:4)
MercyMe: “And I pray that You will use my life/In whatever way Your name is glorified/Even if surrendering means leaving everything… behind.” (I Would Die For You, which was written about a young man who died as a result of a missions trip.)
Paul wrote, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain… this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison… I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Philippians 1:21, II Corinthians 4:17, Romans 8:18)
Jim Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
The words for the song The Prophecy, from the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, have struck me. “Hlasta! Qyetes Hfirimain…” “Listen! It speaks to those who were not born to die…”
That is who God has made us. Hfirimain. Those who were not born to die. Incredible word.
And at the same time, I was struck by the words from the song Suicide Note. “I had a dream last night…/…That maybe I was meant to die/For something that is greater than me… or all that I could be…”
This is also true. As Christians we are called to die. To ourselves and our sinful nature, which looks crazy, and, well, suicidal to the world (which is what Suicide Note is about), but as we die to ourselves, we come to live in Christ. To Christ.
It’s a central truth of Christianity. We live by death. Christ’s death for us. And God often uses the blood of His martyrs as the seed of His church.
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (I Corinthians 15:42-49)
I had a dream last night…
…That maybe I was meant to die
For something that is greater than me… or all that I could be…
Laugh. April 17, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 1 comment so farThis has to be the funniest thing I’ve read in quite a while, so I thought I’d share it with you.
Prayer
Several scientific studies have shown that prayer may have an objective and positive effect on health outcomes. In these studies, the health of people who were prayed for improved substantially more than that of people who were not prayed for. This outcome occurred whether or not the person who was ill knew about the praying or believed in the power of prayer. Medical science cannot explain the connection between prayer and healing. [from the American Medical Association’s Family Medical Guide.]
Well. James could explain it. “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:14-16, ESV)
If all I had was one last prayer, I’d pray it ’cause I know You’re always listening. ~ Jeff Chandler, sung by Casting Crowns.
And in a way, it’s really sad that they cannot explain this connection. But I was still amused. God works in funny ways, ways that don’t always make sense to us. Ways in which we cannot take the credit for.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 1:26-31)
Time and Heaven April 14, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 3commentsAlright. Andúnë rather firmly hinted that he’d like a post on the subject of Time. Fair enough. He came up with an extremely interesting point involving the two books which I forced him (más o menos) to read. (I ought to call these two books something like The Crash Course For Being Able To Understand Anya’s Rather Eclectic Literary References, And, Consequently, Many Of The Divergent Trails Which Her Mind Takes In What Appear To Be Perfectly Ordinary Conversations, 101. But I digress.)
Here’s part of his email: I found a connection between A Severe Mercy and The Hitchhikers Guide. Watches. Sheldon Vanauken talks about time and thinks that modern man possibly has a watch fetish. Strange to see two authors notice the same thing and look at it as Nihilist and as a Christian searching for eternity.Man is always searching for eternity, with Sheldon Vanauken you see somebody who has found it. With Douglas Adams you see somebody who has failed in his quest for eternity but still senses the urge for it. An interesting contrast, don’t you think?
It took some thought as to what I could post about this. Fortunately, my brain kicked into synthesis mode while I was brushing my teeth. See, I was thinking about The Swift, which make me think about this video clip. It was incredible to worship with that many other people. So what will heaven be like? Heaven seems to keep coming up. With Pedro aka Mr. Tangentry, about the mysterious incredibility of it (but not really incredibility, because we believe it.) With Griffin, talking about the brokenness of saying goodbye, and the non-necessity of such in heaven. Also when I was listening to Jars of Clay’s beautiful song All My Tears (by Julie Anne Miller):
When I go, don’t cry for me
In my Father’s arms I’ll be
The wounds this world left on my soul
Will all be healed and I’ll be whole.
Sun and moon will be replaced
With the light of Jesus’ face
And I will not be ashamed
For my Savior knows my name.
It don’t matter where you bury me,
I’ll be home and I’ll be free.
It don’t matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away.
Gold and silver blind the eye
Temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven’s store,
Come and drink, and thirst no more
It don’t matter where you bury me
I’ll be home and I’ll be free
It don’t matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away
So, weep not for me my friends,
When my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him
Who will raise the dead again.
It don’t matter where you bury me,
I’ll be home and I’ll be free.
It don’t matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away.
(And that song itself reminds me of Rich Mullins’ song Elijah.
…Well, if they dressed me like a pauper
Or if they dined me like a prince
If they lay me with my fathers
Or if my ashes scatter on the wind
I don’t care
But when I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
Well, It’ll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won’t break my heart to say goodbye …)
All My Tears makes me think of Samwise. Around Christmas he and I were able to talk about dying — driving in snow and closing conversations with aDios (to God, short for go to God) offer a natural opening for that sort of discussion. We were able to say, very much, that we would not mind dying. And to reassure each other that we would not worry in that event. Be sad, yes. Be delighted for the other, also yes. (And a word of reassurance here… we weren’t being suicidal or morbid or anything of the sort. We were just being honest.) Something about Christmas — maybe it’s Advent — makes me long for heaven anyway. But I wish I could honestly have that conversation with all of my friends, and be so confident that while to them, to live is Christ, to die will indeed be gain (for them, although it would be a sharp and bitter loss to us). For the pure in heart will see God.
It strikes me as strange that we don’t talk and wonder and dream of heaven so much more than we do. Do we shrink from the awe and the joy, the glory and the beauty? Or do we just forget? I certainly have no difficulty in anticipating something good on earth — going to Colonial Williamsburg, a quiz meet, communion Sunday, camp… and these are all so marred with sin that God could not even look at them without the righteousness of Christ. So why is it harder to look forward to — and talk about — the new heavens and the new earth? And I don’t mean that we need to “wonder” about it by buying every new Jenkins/LaHaye book that comes along, or in a church-splitting way, but looking forward to it. With wonder.
Better is one day in Your courts, than thousands elsewhere…
And here, finally, we come back to where I started with Andúnë’s point about Time. What is “one day” in the courts of God?
Better.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain…
Can you say that?
My wondering of the night: Will we — accepting CS Lewis’ premise that something about Time is unnatural to us — be instantly (whatever that means in a timeless setting) used to being outside the ravages of time? Or will we have to grow used to it, make silly mistakes in our speech, and all laugh?
Time could not be wasted in heaven, anyway, because there we will worship perfectly and fully — in all of life, not just corporate, formal worship… and that’s what we were created to do.
Worshiping God is never a waste of time.
In fact, it’s the only way to redeem the time. And… I could write a lot more about this subject, but I’m still a spirit with a pre-resurrection body, which is temporal and in need of sleep.
And I will not be ashamed, for my Savior knows my name.
When We Find Truth, We Get Beauty Too April 11, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , add a commentThis post may be a little disjointed, because I’m working on my evaluation on The (not so) Great Gatsby. Bear with me.
Nick ends the book disillusioned. But being disillusioned is not the same thing as knowing the truth — obviously not, in Nick’s case. He did not find what he wanted in the East, but only corruption, so he returns to the Mid-West. However, he misses the point and falls into the same trap which Gatsby fell into — thinking that the further we go into the future, the more we find ourselves trapped in the past. In fact, Nick takes it one step further than Gatsby. Gatsby tried to regain the past; Nick thinks it is inevitable. The Great Gatsby ends with Nick saying,
Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning –
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
The poor fellow doesn’t even realize that there could be a purpose to the past as well as the future. He’s stuck in Ecclesiastes 1, seeing everything as going meaninglessly around and around, and does not get to move into Ecclesiastes 12, to know that God will judge and that this gives us a purpose for living in remembrance of our Creator.
Anyway. I could rant at some length about The Great Gatsby, but I just wanted to use that to kick off this post. Because I pity Nick. He doesn’t get to end very happily, at least as far as this book ends — in fact, none of the characters do. I was thinking about this and realized that this is really not how I want anyone whom I know to end.
I don’t want my friends to buy into all the “hollow and deceptive philosophy” of this world (Colossians 2:8), but neither do I want them to be eternally wandering around without answers. I want them to know that there is truth, and that we can know it. Real truth is found in God Who became a man, came down to earth and actually lived here and died here and really took the punishment for our sins and gave us His righteousness. This isn’t some vague philosophy that you have to go to grad school to understand. It’s something which John was able to write of, saying,
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship… By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. [I John 1:1-3a, 3:19-20]
If everyone I know understands that, knows the truth about the Word of Life and believes it, then I’m not too worried for them.
The hardness of it comes because I have been called to live out this truth in my own life. That’s not an easy thing to do in a postmodern culture, which says that the only absolute is that there are no absolutes. (Maybe it would be easier to deal with if the very premises of postmodernism didn’t give me such a blinding headache, but I don’t have that luxury.)
But the goodness comes in there too — in how we live the truth.
And yesterday I got to see again part of the reason that God calls us, as Christians, together into the church. To keep pointing each other to Him, to His purpose, to His will — and to keep helping each other. Paul wrote, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (I Thessalonians 5:11) Everything from several extraordinarily goofy moments on IM to a real “conspiracy” plot in encouraging a friend from youth group reminded me that God is good, and that He is faithful.
As Mr. Tangentry pointed out yesterday, it was — and is — a great day, the kind of day which brings us to tell people how good God is. And thinking about that now has Sanctus Real’s redo of the U2 song Beautiful Day going in my head.
It’s a beautiful day, the sky falls
And you feel like it’s a beautiful day
It’s a beautiful day
Don’t let it get away…
After the flood all the colours came out
It was a beautiful day
A beautiful day
Don’t let it get away…
…still, the joy would be worth the pain — if, indeed, they went together. If there were a choice — and he suspected there was — a choice between, on the one hand, the heights and the depths and, on the other hand, some sort of safe, cautious middle way, he, for one, here and now chose the heights and the depths. [A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken]
Spring is Here; Aslan Lives April 10, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague, Uncategorized , 1 comment so far
More about Awe and Joy… April 2, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , 3comments“What! You, too? … You know that? The pain of beauty?” [Sheldon Vanauken, A Severe Mercy]
StrongJoy reminded me of Rich Mullins’ song Sometimes By Step: Sometimes the night was beautiful/sometimes the sky was so far away/sometimes it seemed to steep so close/you could touch it but your heart would break…
To my shame, I had forgotten about that song. But the first time I heard those words, it was incredible, because they perfectly described what I had felt not that long before. That I could touch the sky, but it would break something inside of me. It’s belonging and not belonging, at the same time. Lewis: “You don’t have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”
I think that night, when I had felt that I could touch the sky, may have been the same night when I realized what Samwise Gamgee meant… Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach. Beauty does smite. It tells us that we do not belong here.
In A Severe Mercy, Lewis wrote to Van, “You say the materialistic universe is ‘ugly’. I wonder how you discovered that! If you are really the product of a materialistic universe, how is it you don’t feel at home there?… Notice how we are perpetually surprised at Time. (’How times flies! Fancy John being grown-up & married! I can hardly believe it!’) In heaven’s name, why? Unless, indeed, there is something in us that is not temporal.”
But on the other hand, try thinking about eternity. Ouch.
Yet it still calls forth a response…
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! [Romans 11:33]
And He came to earth, (the Word — logos — all the high Platonic things — became flesh — sarx — everything dirty and polluted) and died for us.
Things into which angels long to look…
Have been given to us…
Don’t forget. It is a truth which we often overlook, often allowing the logos to become concealed beneath the sarx, forgetting to behold His glory.
But it is there, nonetheless.
Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
