I press on towards the goal of the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus
I had the joy of taking my friend’s dog for a walk. It was a beautiful evening in the outskirts of Pittsburgh, and as Amber (the German shepherd) and I strolled along, I had a thought. Most of the walk was a game of tug-of-war; it was either me pulling her along or her pulling me along. I had my thoughts on the route I wanted to take, but Amber managed to find plenty of distractions along the way. Every ten yards or so, a random, unexceptional spot of grass would grab her interest, and she would stand there and sniff around for a while until I persuaded her to continue. Shrubbery, street signs, and trees all provided opportunities for detour as the sun continued to sink beneath the horizon and the air gradually grew cooler.
But every now and then, she would just walk with me. Not stopping to sniff a patch of grass, and not straining forward against my guidance, she simply shuffled along beside me as we enjoyed the evening together. And as the leash fell slack, there was a certain peace.
I couldn’t help but think- what if we, in our walk with God, could take a second to chill out and just walk with Him? What if we trusted the path He has set before us and stopped trying to make our own? What if we stopped allowing things as frivolous as fire hydrants and stop signs to get in the way of faithfully following God wherever He leads? What if we could press into such close communion with God, if we could be so in tune with the Holy Spirit, that we had the wisdom and obedience to both continue moving forward at God’s pace in God’s direction, and also to know when to stop with Him and simply enjoy the sunset?
I’m willing to bet that as we let our leashes droop to the ground by coming closer to the one holding them, so too will fall the things that make our walks an exhausting tug-of-war- the fears and insecurities that manifest themselves when we doubt that our God is a good one, the foolish things that distract us when we fail to realize the God with whom we are walking is far more desirable than the dandelions in the cracks in the sidewalk, and the walls of selfishness and disregard that inhibit community in our midst.
So let’s take a second to be still and know that He is God, and as we continue our walk, maybe we’ll find the peace that comes when our leash falls slack.
This is an original piece that we had to compose for our Musicianship IV Final. We had to pick a 20th Century style (we chose Impressionism, think Debussy) and then use techniques from that style to write a song into any genre we wanted.
20th Century Impressionism
Vocals (Improvised), Lea Tsoubanos
Piano, Molly Cavanaugh
Double Bass, Heidi Kaminski
Electronic Percussion, Robby Breckinridge
Recording and Production: Robby Breckinridge
Pictures: Molly Cavanaugh
Lyrics: The Sun Never Says by Hafez
Even
After
All this time
The sun never says to the earth,
“You owe
Me.”
Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the
Whole
Sky.
C.S. Lewis
[this seems like a really scary thing… until we truly learn that there is no fear in love]
We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it?
It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out.
I want to repeat one word for you.
Leave.
Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn’t it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don’t worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed.
My hometown, ladies & gentlemen.
Oh my heavens. I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry.
May God give us the wisdom and grace to navigate the grey areas of this world.
And forgive us when we foolishly try to make it black and white.
(Source: deconstrvctivism)
‘“What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told [Judas], but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.’ (John 13:27-29)
The disciples overheard Jesus telling Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly,” but they didn’t know what Jesus was talking about. Their assumption that Jesus sent Judas off on a noble errand offers fantastic insight.
The disciples wondered, “What is Jesus spending our money on?” It must be one of two things- to celebrate God’s goodness in the Passover Feast, or to demonstrate God’s goodness by caring for the poor. The eleven had a different view of money from Judas.
The American Church has been entrusted with the purse of the kingdom. Hundreds of millions of fellow disciples live amidst life-threatening poverty, and I wonder if they are assuming we would put the treasuries of the kingdom to one of those two purposes- celebrating God’s goodness or demonstrating God’s goodness by caring for the poor. One day they will see the books.
Where did we get this idea that God is scared off by our brokenness?
How did we come to believe so strongly that somehow, the mess of our lives is enough to offend Him, is enough for Him to want nothing to do with us?
Read this.
