An elephantine pursuit of the obvious

Somewhat lengthy, but well worth reading. I was moved almost to tears by the time I reached the eleventh point. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

~*~

"I don't want to give the impression that in our fight for joy one must always make special plans to pursue such revelations of God's glory--like a trip to the mountains or a theater. Most of the time we should simply open our eyes (and ears and noses and skin and taste buds). Not that this takes no effort. Clearly human beings have a strange malady that makes the ordinary glories of each day almost invisible, and certainly less interesting than their imitations in theaters and television. There are more ooooh's and ahhh's over the visual effects on a thirty-foot theater screen than over the night sky and the setting sun. Why is it so hard for us to feel wonder at the usual when clearly it is more spectacular than the man-made imitation? ...

"This is a tragic condition captured by the proverb, 'Familiarity breeds contempt'--or breeds blindness to ordinary and obvious beauty. But surely redemption through Jesus Christ means that we will be freed from that proverb someday. And since our redemption has already begun in this age, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians ought to have better eyes than people in general for seeing the wonders that day and night pour forth. We ought to be the kind of people who walk out of the house in the morning with the same sense of expectancy that we take into the theater--only more. ...

"At the end of his life my teacher, Clyde Kilby, came to Minneapolis and gave a lecture on how he intended to do just this. ... He summed up his talk with eleven resolutions. I commend them to you as one way of overcoming our bent toward blindness for the wonders of the ordinary.

1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above me and about me.

2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle, and an end. I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death, when he said: 'There is darkness without and when I die ther will be darkness within. There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing.'

3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.

4. I shall not turn my life into a thin straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.

5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.

6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tre, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what [C.S.] Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic" existence.

7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder."

8. I shall follow Darwin's advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.

9. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is just now.

10. If for nothing more than the sake of a change of view, I shall assume my ancestry to be from the heavens rather than from the caves.

11. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life in the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke ade by the architect who calls Himself Alpha and Omega."

~*~

Taken from John Piper's book When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy

The Trembling Christian

‘I have yet to speak on God’s behalf.’
Job 36:2

We ought not to court publicity for our virtue, or notoriety for our zeal; but, at the same time, it is a sin to be always seeking to hide that which God has bestowed upon us for the good of others. A Christian is not to be a village in a valley, but ‘a city set upon a hill’; he is not to be a candle under a bushel, but a candle in a candlestick, giving light to all. Retirement may be lovely in its season, and to hide one’s self is doubtless modest, but the hiding of Christ in us can never be justified, and the keeping back of truth which is precious to ourselves is a sin against others and an offence against God. If you are of a nervous temperament and of retiring disposition, take care that you do not too much indulge this trembling propensity, lest you should be useless to the church. Seek in the name of Him who was not ashamed of you to do some little violence to your feelings, and tell to others what Christ has told to you. If you cannot speak with trumpet tongue, use the still small voice. If the pulpit must not be your tribune, if the press may not carry on its wings your words, yet say with Peter and John, ‘Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee’. By Sychar’s well talk to the Samaritan woman, if you cannot on the mountain preach a sermon; utter the praises of Jesus in the house, if not in the temple; in the field, if not upon the exchange; in the midst of your own household, if you cannot in the midst of the great family of man. From the hidden springs within let sweetly flowing rivulets of testimony flow forth, giving drink to every passer-by. Hide not your talent; trade with it; and you shall bring in good interest to your Lord and Master. To speak for God will be refreshing to ourselves, cheering to saints, useful to sinners, and honoring to the Savior. Dumb children are an affliction to their parents. Lord, unloose all Thy children’s tongues.

-- Taken from Spurgeon's "Morning & Evening", January 12

Going through the motions

I keep hearing a Matthew West song on the radio as I'm driving to and from work, and the lyrics to the song, combined with several key ideas from recent sermons our pastor has been preaching, have caused me to stop and think throughout the day, especially since the song is one of those songs that will tend to stick in your head for a few days at a time... =)

The song is called "The Motions", and the chorus goes like this:

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all-consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking
"What if I had given everything,
Instead of going through the motions?"

As I ponder my Christian walk, I am reminded of how incredibly easy it is to fall into just "going through the motions" every day, especially when life is busy and I feel like I'm just spinning from one day to the next. Even things that should be routine--reading the Word, spending time in prayer--can become just "motions" if I fail to think about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. What is the primary motivation of my heart? Am I doing these things for myself? For appearances? For someone else? Just so that I can say that I'm doing them? Where are my affections? Do I find myself reveling in and truly loving the Word when I pick it up? Or am I just "going through the motions" without really thinking about the awesome reality of what it is that I'm holding in my hands? Do my prayers become quick and clipped, a laundry list of requests with little time spent simply praising God and thanking Him for who He is and what He has done?

How often do I truly live as a child of God, and how often do I just go through the motions?

It's not an easy question, but it's one that certainly needs pondering.

My new favorite quote...

From one of the best teachers I had in high school:

"Remember what education is for--not the success of some institution, but the enriching of the homelife; to make our men more courageous and discerning, to make our women more gracious and insightful, our conversations better competition for the television, our storytelling more captivating, our young men less likely to be the clods that are incapable of husbanding their wives, and our aesthetic tastes more akin to true beauty." ~ Fritz Hinrichs

My current favorite Christmas song

"Anthem for Christmas"
by Michael W. Smith

In the space of the beginning
Was the living Word of Light
When this Word was clearly spoken
All that came to be was right

All creation had a language
Words to say what must be said
All day long the heavens whispered
Signing words in scarlet red

Still some failed to understand it
So God spoke His final Word
On a silent night in Judah’s Hills
A baby’s cry was heard

“Glory!” sang the angel chorus
“Glory!” echoed back the night
Love has come to walk among us
Christ the Lord is born this night

All creation sing His praises
Earth and heaven praise His name
All who live come join the chorus
Find the words, His love proclaim

A productive day

... Picked up Christmas presents for three very special people today.

... Organized presents I already had for a dozen more. Literally. I can't believe I have this much done this early.

... Had lots of laughing time with Mum and Sis.

... Wrapped one stack in the mound of presents sitting on my bedroom floor.

... Listened to Christmas music all day.

... And perhaps most important of all, FINISHED MY THEOLOGY CLASS this afternoon. One last chunk of homework and one more final, and I'm FREE!



Why can't every day be like this? ^_^

Currently Watching: Australia

I could have walked out of the theater, turned around, and immediately gone back in to watch it again.

I'm not even kidding.

^_^