Part One Matt 13:31-32 says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” In Chapter 17, Matthew tells the story of a young boy who was living possessed by a demon. His father took him to the disciples for prayer, but they were unable to heal him. So the father took him to Jesus and told him about the disciples inability to heal. Jesus was frustrated with the disciples, and then healed the boy. The disciples pulled Jesus aside and asked him how and why they failed. Jesus replied, “Because you have so little faith… if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.” Strong's Concordance defines faith as “the conviction and belief that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things.” Heb 11:1 says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Things had been changing drastically for the disciples. They were working men who had suddenly become Rabbi’s in training - at least, being trained in The New Way that Jesus came to mark out for them. They had left behind their jobs, impacting their families and reputations; they had seen things and heard things that were different, their lives were heading in a completely new direction. Change, change and more change every day. And now Jesus had them healing people, or wanted them to. And they tried. In their own strength, they give it a red hot go. But rather than engaging that tiny mustard seed of faith, they worked hard in their own strength, used what could be seen, relied on they could see. They only knew what they knew. In this demon possessed boy, or whatever else might have been in front of them - sickness, lack, hurt, pain, mental illness... all they could see was a mountain. Impassable, immovable; in its volume and immensity unwilling to change. And this is the problem. We rely on the natural course of things - what was, and is will determine what will be. We look at a mountain and scream and shout and expend all our energy defying it and being angry knowing that, of course, a mountain cannot be moved. When by faith we could speak to it, find out its mysteries, discover its pathways; what shoes should we wear, what gear do we need to climb it, conquer it; to see it not as an impassable mountain, but a miracle waiting to happen. And who knows what we might find on the other side of the mountain? The real miracle is to go from seeing the mountains in our lives as a dead end to seeing them as something we can, by faith, overcome. Brene Brown says, “Faith is a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty.” To be continued.
Part One Matt 13:31-32 says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” In Chapter 17, Matthew tells the story of a young boy who was living possessed by a demon. His father took him to the disciples for prayer, but they were unable to heal him. So the father took him to Jesus and told him about the disciples inability to heal. Jesus was frustrated with the disciples, and then healed the boy. The disciples pulled Jesus aside and asked him how and why they failed. Jesus replied, “Because you have so little faith… if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.” Strong's Concordance defines faith as “the conviction and belief that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things.” Heb 11:1 says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Things had been changing drastically for the disciples. They were working men who had suddenly become Rabbi’s in training - at least, being trained in The New Way that Jesus came to mark out for them. They had left behind their jobs, impacting their families and reputations; they had seen things and heard things that were different, their lives were heading in a completely new direction. Change, change and more change every day. And now Jesus had them healing people, or wanted them to. And they tried. In their own strength, they give it a red hot go. But rather than engaging that tiny mustard seed of faith, they worked hard in their own strength, used what could be seen, relied on they could see. They only knew what they knew. In this demon possessed boy, or whatever else might have been in front of them - sickness, lack, hurt, pain, mental illness... all they could see was a mountain. Impassable, immovable; in its volume and immensity unwilling to change. And this is the problem. We rely on the natural course of things - what was, and is will determine what will be. We look at a mountain and scream and shout and expend all our energy defying it and being angry knowing that, of course, a mountain cannot be moved. When by faith we could speak to it, find out its mysteries, discover its pathways; what shoes should we wear, what gear do we need to climb it, conquer it; to see it not as an impassable mountain, but a miracle waiting to happen. And who knows what we might find on the other side of the mountain? The real miracle is to go from seeing the mountains in our lives as a dead end to seeing them as something we can, by faith, overcome. Brene Brown says, “Faith is a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty.” To be continued.
Some of us spend a lot of time living backwards - thinking about things that could have and should have been; things that have left us heartbroken, disappointed, or just embarrassed. Some of us fantasise about our past successes and achievements, revelling in moments long after they’re gone, spoon feeding them to our self-esteems. Regurgitating them. We feed today on the things that happened yesterday. The what-ifs, if-onlys, should-haves and could-haves will eat your heart and the joy right out of you. And the successes of yesterday can make the consistent and somewhat slow momentum of this moment seem unexciting and unproductive. I’ve been thinking about the past lately, recent and distant. Some moments I’ve had no control over, and others that were completely me. But all of them combined have been chewing me up, gnawing at my soul. Then in the quiet I heard the voice of God whisper to my heart “let it go…” gently encouraging me to leave the past where it is, the good and the bad, and move forward. Some of the letting go was hard. Is hard. There are things that I want to be different, chances I wish I took, people who live in my past and not my present, moments of perceived success that gave me a sense of self-worth and security; all memories that I’ve been eating to give me a taste of what was. Other memories are haunting, they lull me into a daze of failure and timidity, paralysing my will to move forward. All of those things have made me who I am today and have brought me to this place, so I remain thankful for them. In his infinite ways, the Divine wastes nothing. But to move forward, I must stop looking back. I can’t change yesterday, tomorrow is not yet here, but I do have this day. Instead of feeding myself the regurgitated moments of what has been, God is teaching me to live on the three things that remain through it all: faith, hope and love. Take the lessons of yesterday in one hand, hope and faith for tomorrow in the other, and walk through this day in love. No matter what has transpired, no matter what situations we leave behind, there is yet more for us to discover and experience. And the possibilities are truly endless. So I’ve been burying some hurts, removing memories and ideas that were growing like cancers on my heart, and allowing Jesus to fill me with the joy of this moment and the hope of tomorrow. I’m letting go. Paul writes in Phil 3:13-14 “but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Let’s not live backwards, but be thankful and press on to hope. Lean into God's strength, squeeze every drop out of today and then do the same tomorrow - dream with purpose and wonder. Don’t dwell on yesterday, live fully in the now and reignite our hope for all our tomorrows.
Some of us spend a lot of time living backwards - thinking about things that could have and should have been; things that have left us heartbroken, disappointed, or just embarrassed. Some of us fantasise about our past successes and achievements, revelling in moments long after they’re gone, spoon feeding them to our self-esteems. Regurgitating them. We feed today on the things that happened yesterday. The what-ifs, if-onlys, should-haves and could-haves will eat your heart and the joy right out of you. And the successes of yesterday can make the consistent and somewhat slow momentum of this moment seem unexciting and unproductive. I’ve been thinking about the past lately, recent and distant. Some moments I’ve had no control over, and others that were completely me. But all of them combined have been chewing me up, gnawing at my soul. Then in the quiet I heard the voice of God whisper to my heart “let it go…” gently encouraging me to leave the past where it is, the good and the bad, and move forward. Some of the letting go was hard. Is hard. There are things that I want to be different, chances I wish I took, people who live in my past and not my present, moments of perceived success that gave me a sense of self-worth and security; all memories that I’ve been eating to give me a taste of what was. Other memories are haunting, they lull me into a daze of failure and timidity, paralysing my will to move forward. All of those things have made me who I am today and have brought me to this place, so I remain thankful for them. In his infinite ways, the Divine wastes nothing. But to move forward, I must stop looking back. I can’t change yesterday, tomorrow is not yet here, but I do have this day. Instead of feeding myself the regurgitated moments of what has been, God is teaching me to live on the three things that remain through it all: faith, hope and love. Take the lessons of yesterday in one hand, hope and faith for tomorrow in the other, and walk through this day in love. No matter what has transpired, no matter what situations we leave behind, there is yet more for us to discover and experience. And the possibilities are truly endless. So I’ve been burying some hurts, removing memories and ideas that were growing like cancers on my heart, and allowing Jesus to fill me with the joy of this moment and the hope of tomorrow. I’m letting go. Paul writes in Phil 3:13-14 “but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Let’s not live backwards, but be thankful and press on to hope. Lean into God's strength, squeeze every drop out of today and then do the same tomorrow - dream with purpose and wonder. Don’t dwell on yesterday, live fully in the now and reignite our hope for all our tomorrows.
“But God’s infinitude belongs to us and is made known to us for our everlasting profit. Yet, just what does it mean to us beyond the mere wonder of thinking about it? Much every day, and more as come to know ourselves and God better. Because God’s nature is infinite, everything that flows of it is infinite also. We poor human creatures are constantly being frustrated by limitations imposed upon us from without and within. The days of the years of our lives are few, and swifter that a weavers shuttle. Life is a short and fevered rehearsal for a concert we cannot stay to give. Just when we appear to have attained some proficiency we are forced to lay our instruments down. There is simply not enough time to think, to become, to perform what the constitution of our natures indicates we are capable of. How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years. God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves. For those out of Christ, time is a devouring beast; before the sons of the new creation time crouches and purrs and licks their hands. The foe of the old human race becomes the friend of the new, and the stars in their courses fight for the man God delights to honor. This we may learn from the divine infinitude. But there is more. God’s gifts in nature have their limitations. They are finite because they have been created, but the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus is as limitless as God. The Christian man possesses God’s own life and shares His infinitude with Him. In God, there is life enough for all and time enough to enjoy it. Whatever is possessed of natural life runs through its cycle from birth to death and ceases to be, but the life of God returns upon itself and ceases never. And this is life eternal: to know the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. The mercy of God is infinite too, and the man who has felt the grinding pain of inward guilt knows that this is more than academic. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Abounding sin is the terror of the world, but abounding grace is the hope of mankind. However sin may abound it still has it limits, for it is the product of finite minds and hearts, but God’s “much more” introduces us to infinitude. Against our deep creature-sickness stands God’s infinite ability to cure. His love is measureless. It is more: it is boundless. It has no bounds because it is not a thing but a facet of the essential nature of God. His love is something He is, and because He is infinite that love can enfold the whole created world in itself and have room for ten thousand times ten thousand worlds beside." From "Knowledge of the Holy" AW Tozer 1961.
“But God’s infinitude belongs to us and is made known to us for our everlasting profit. Yet, just what does it mean to us beyond the mere wonder of thinking about it? Much every day, and more as come to know ourselves and God better. Because God’s nature is infinite, everything that flows of it is infinite also. We poor human creatures are constantly being frustrated by limitations imposed upon us from without and within. The days of the years of our lives are few, and swifter that a weavers shuttle. Life is a short and fevered rehearsal for a concert we cannot stay to give. Just when we appear to have attained some proficiency we are forced to lay our instruments down. There is simply not enough time to think, to become, to perform what the constitution of our natures indicates we are capable of. How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years. God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves. For those out of Christ, time is a devouring beast; before the sons of the new creation time crouches and purrs and licks their hands. The foe of the old human race becomes the friend of the new, and the stars in their courses fight for the man God delights to honor. This we may learn from the divine infinitude. But there is more. God’s gifts in nature have their limitations. They are finite because they have been created, but the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus is as limitless as God. The Christian man possesses God’s own life and shares His infinitude with Him. In God, there is life enough for all and time enough to enjoy it. Whatever is possessed of natural life runs through its cycle from birth to death and ceases to be, but the life of God returns upon itself and ceases never. And this is life eternal: to know the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. The mercy of God is infinite too, and the man who has felt the grinding pain of inward guilt knows that this is more than academic. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Abounding sin is the terror of the world, but abounding grace is the hope of mankind. However sin may abound it still has it limits, for it is the product of finite minds and hearts, but God’s “much more” introduces us to infinitude. Against our deep creature-sickness stands God’s infinite ability to cure. His love is measureless. It is more: it is boundless. It has no bounds because it is not a thing but a facet of the essential nature of God. His love is something He is, and because He is infinite that love can enfold the whole created world in itself and have room for ten thousand times ten thousand worlds beside." From "Knowledge of the Holy" AW Tozer 1961.
This exchange takes place before the ‘last supper’ that Jesus had with his Disciples before he faced the cross. John records with beautiful detail that a deeply contemplative Jesus rose from his seat and began to prepare himself and a basin of water to wash his disciples feet. The disciples were perplexed… Peter exclaimed "You shall never wash my feet!” Peter didn’t say this out of pride or ignorance. I think Peter had a revelation that Jesus was the Son of God - not a man confined to the dust of the earth, but 100% otherworldly, spiritual, eternal, born of God the Divine. The living expression of divine inspiration. He was aghast that such a man, such a prince, such a force would ever stoop so low as to wash his soiled feet. But Jesus knew that what he was about to endure and overcome on the cross would change their lives forever. He wanted to SHOW his friends the extent of his grace and love, how he wanted to mix into them and become a part of their lives. He was weaving a story of continued grace… Jesus answered, “Peter you don’t understand what I am doing, but someday you will… If I do not wash your feet, you cannot share companionship with me.” Peter, now filled with recognition, begged “then not just my feet Lord, but wash my head and hands too.” Relationship with Christ is two-way, just as all relationships are. You cannot receive redemption unless you allow Jesus to give it to you. It’s a miraculous and divine exchange. Jesus wanted to wash their feet. Feet that had walked down many different roads; some clean, others filthy. Journeys of hard work, alleyways of despair, mountains of challenge, valleys of heartache, fields of delight, and roads of progress... Whatever had held up their lives and coloured them in any way, Jesus wanted to baptise, refresh and renew, wash clean and restore; not just their feet, but their lives weary from the journeys of living. Peter wanted all in with Jesus - he wanted his whole life, not just his footsteps, but his thoughts and actions too, to be bathed in the power of Christ… He didn't yet know that Jesus blood would be poured out. That Jesus death, burial and resurrection would ignite redemption within him and set him free from the bonds of his sins past, present and future. But even from the moment of redemption - a full body bathed and cleansed with the power of Christ - we still walk in a world tainted by hate, lust, despair, fear… things contrary to the presence and person of Jesus. Things that move in opposition to his divine nature and grace. We need to come to him daily to reconcile the things we pick up along the way; the soiling of the world that wants to infect our hearts with its disease. Jesus was showing his friends this. They would understand in time that he is not a distant saviour, but a personal, all involved, not afraid of a little dirt or caked mud kind-of-Saviour. The kind we desperately need. If Jesus is leading you down paths that you don’t understand… trust him. He knows what he’s doing - the story he writes is involved, beautiful and complete… let it unfold. There is grace for the journey now and always.
This exchange takes place before the ‘last supper’ that Jesus had with his Disciples before he faced the cross. John records with beautiful detail that a deeply contemplative Jesus rose from his seat and began to prepare himself and a basin of water to wash his disciples feet. The disciples were perplexed… Peter exclaimed "You shall never wash my feet!” Peter didn’t say this out of pride or ignorance. I think Peter had a revelation that Jesus was the Son of God - not a man confined to the dust of the earth, but 100% otherworldly, spiritual, eternal, born of God the Divine. The living expression of divine inspiration. He was aghast that such a man, such a prince, such a force would ever stoop so low as to wash his soiled feet. But Jesus knew that what he was about to endure and overcome on the cross would change their lives forever. He wanted to SHOW his friends the extent of his grace and love, how he wanted to mix into them and become a part of their lives. He was weaving a story of continued grace… Jesus answered, “Peter you don’t understand what I am doing, but someday you will… If I do not wash your feet, you cannot share companionship with me.” Peter, now filled with recognition, begged “then not just my feet Lord, but wash my head and hands too.” Relationship with Christ is two-way, just as all relationships are. You cannot receive redemption unless you allow Jesus to give it to you. It’s a miraculous and divine exchange. Jesus wanted to wash their feet. Feet that had walked down many different roads; some clean, others filthy. Journeys of hard work, alleyways of despair, mountains of challenge, valleys of heartache, fields of delight, and roads of progress... Whatever had held up their lives and coloured them in any way, Jesus wanted to baptise, refresh and renew, wash clean and restore; not just their feet, but their lives weary from the journeys of living. Peter wanted all in with Jesus - he wanted his whole life, not just his footsteps, but his thoughts and actions too, to be bathed in the power of Christ… He didn't yet know that Jesus blood would be poured out. That Jesus death, burial and resurrection would ignite redemption within him and set him free from the bonds of his sins past, present and future. But even from the moment of redemption - a full body bathed and cleansed with the power of Christ - we still walk in a world tainted by hate, lust, despair, fear… things contrary to the presence and person of Jesus. Things that move in opposition to his divine nature and grace. We need to come to him daily to reconcile the things we pick up along the way; the soiling of the world that wants to infect our hearts with its disease. Jesus was showing his friends this. They would understand in time that he is not a distant saviour, but a personal, all involved, not afraid of a little dirt or caked mud kind-of-Saviour. The kind we desperately need. If Jesus is leading you down paths that you don’t understand… trust him. He knows what he’s doing - the story he writes is involved, beautiful and complete… let it unfold. There is grace for the journey now and always.
Part Two There’s a tension in life that begs “there must be something more than this, more than what I have right now...” Part of it comes from not living in the moment and seeing how truly incredible the gift of life is. And the other part comes from a place that is hardwired into every human being. There’s an eternal thread weaved through us all, a connection to another world, time and space... Our Maker left His mark within us. We are flesh of his making, born of his infinite spirit. I feel this strange homesickness for a land I’ve never seen. I sense it beneath a sky burgeoning with stars, when the earth is warm beneath my feet, when the ocean rains it possessive love upon the shore; I hear it in the songs my kids sing and feel it within the kind help from a stranger... This eternal thread, hidden yet unavoidable, rides upon the melodies of life and sings into our hearts, making them yearn for something all at once familiar and strange. Eternity in the heart of EVERY man and woman, the fingerprint of God, the way home... Below is a beautiful poem written about this tension, I hope it touches your heart as it does ours. MUSIC Anne Porter When I was a child I once sat sobbing on the floor Beside my mother's piano As she played and sang For there was in her singing A shy yet solemn glory My smallness could not hold And when I was asked Why I was crying I had no words for it I only shook my head And went on crying Why is it that music At its most beautiful Opens a wound in us An ache a desolation Deep as a homesickness For some far-off And half-forgotten country I've never understood Why this is so But there's an ancient legend From the other side of the world That gives away the secret Of this mysterious sorrow For centuries on centuries We have been wandering But we were made for Paradise As deer for the forest And when music comes to us With its heavenly beauty It brings us desolation For when we hear it We half remember That lost native country We dimly remember the fields Their fragrant windswept clover The birdsongs in the orchards The wild white violets in the moss By the transparent streams And shining at the heart of it Is the longed-for beauty Of the One who waits for us Who will always wait for us In those radiant meadows Yet also came to live with us And wanders where we wander.
Part Two There’s a tension in life that begs “there must be something more than this, more than what I have right now...” Part of it comes from not living in the moment and seeing how truly incredible the gift of life is. And the other part comes from a place that is hardwired into every human being. There’s an eternal thread weaved through us all, a connection to another world, time and space... Our Maker left His mark within us. We are flesh of his making, born of his infinite spirit. I feel this strange homesickness for a land I’ve never seen. I sense it beneath a sky burgeoning with stars, when the earth is warm beneath my feet, when the ocean rains it possessive love upon the shore; I hear it in the songs my kids sing and feel it within the kind help from a stranger... This eternal thread, hidden yet unavoidable, rides upon the melodies of life and sings into our hearts, making them yearn for something all at once familiar and strange. Eternity in the heart of EVERY man and woman, the fingerprint of God, the way home... Below is a beautiful poem written about this tension, I hope it touches your heart as it does ours. MUSIC Anne Porter When I was a child I once sat sobbing on the floor Beside my mother's piano As she played and sang For there was in her singing A shy yet solemn glory My smallness could not hold And when I was asked Why I was crying I had no words for it I only shook my head And went on crying Why is it that music At its most beautiful Opens a wound in us An ache a desolation Deep as a homesickness For some far-off And half-forgotten country I've never understood Why this is so But there's an ancient legend From the other side of the world That gives away the secret Of this mysterious sorrow For centuries on centuries We have been wandering But we were made for Paradise As deer for the forest And when music comes to us With its heavenly beauty It brings us desolation For when we hear it We half remember That lost native country We dimly remember the fields Their fragrant windswept clover The birdsongs in the orchards The wild white violets in the moss By the transparent streams And shining at the heart of it Is the longed-for beauty Of the One who waits for us Who will always wait for us In those radiant meadows Yet also came to live with us And wanders where we wander.
Part One This scripture follows Ecc 3:1 “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” There is an ebb and flow to life that’s out of our control. We can try to hold onto summer with all our might and delay the onset of the cold... but we cannot hold back the frost, we cannot hinder summer from the continuation of its journey. Time passes with no mans help or hindrance and winter will surely come. Many of us spend time counting down the days until such and such happens, or until this season passes... we dream of what could happen, good or bad... We obsess over what is ‘not yet’, and by doing so, we miss the beauty of the ‘now.’ Beauty resides in the journey, and it’s the journey that makes the destination beautiful. When I was a student, I just wanted school to be over and completed. Once I graduated, I understood that that moment was the accumulation of my years of learning and studying. The event did not complete my schooling, but the years of learning culminated in the moment of completion. I could not have graduated from High School unless I journeyed through it. You may be in the midst of tragedy, or on Cloud 9, so diverse are the seasons... but wherever you are, keep on moving. Learn and grow. Take the time to appreciate this moment... even if it’s painful and full of heartache, let the pain do a deep work within you, ushering in healing. Then allow the moments of awe and wonder to fill you with grace and humility, strengthening you for the seasons ahead. Ps 100:5 (MSG) says, “God is sheer beauty, all generous in love, loyal always and ever.” He has made everything beautiful because he is here through and in everything. Never absent, loyal to the core. Beauty pours out of him regardless of the times. Just as the sun rises in both summer and winter, God brings out the beauty in and through every season of our lives. Don’t rush, breathe in this moment, soak up all that it can teach and reveal to you. Allow God to unveil his beauty in both heartache and triumph.
Part One This scripture follows Ecc 3:1 “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” There is an ebb and flow to life that’s out of our control. We can try to hold onto summer with all our might and delay the onset of the cold... but we cannot hold back the frost, we cannot hinder summer from the continuation of its journey. Time passes with no mans help or hindrance and winter will surely come. Many of us spend time counting down the days until such and such happens, or until this season passes... we dream of what could happen, good or bad... We obsess over what is ‘not yet’, and by doing so, we miss the beauty of the ‘now.’ Beauty resides in the journey, and it’s the journey that makes the destination beautiful. When I was a student, I just wanted school to be over and completed. Once I graduated, I understood that that moment was the accumulation of my years of learning and studying. The event did not complete my schooling, but the years of learning culminated in the moment of completion. I could not have graduated from High School unless I journeyed through it. You may be in the midst of tragedy, or on Cloud 9, so diverse are the seasons... but wherever you are, keep on moving. Learn and grow. Take the time to appreciate this moment... even if it’s painful and full of heartache, let the pain do a deep work within you, ushering in healing. Then allow the moments of awe and wonder to fill you with grace and humility, strengthening you for the seasons ahead. Ps 100:5 (MSG) says, “God is sheer beauty, all generous in love, loyal always and ever.” He has made everything beautiful because he is here through and in everything. Never absent, loyal to the core. Beauty pours out of him regardless of the times. Just as the sun rises in both summer and winter, God brings out the beauty in and through every season of our lives. Don’t rush, breathe in this moment, soak up all that it can teach and reveal to you. Allow God to unveil his beauty in both heartache and triumph.
LIGHT - PART FIVE John records Jesus saying: "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." (John 8:12 NLT) Mathew records him saying: "You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:14-16 MSG). So much light. Can you see it? Light is not singular in color but is made up of all existing colors. Every single color, bar none, when joined and stirred together; when they hold each other and mix into one another, they make the color of light. As I said in part one, scientists say that light is both obvious and mysterious. We can see it, but try to figure out how it works? That’s challenging. Whenever they think they’ve got it figured out, light beautifully surprises them. Across time, many well-respected scientists have had made many different, and often opposing, theories about light; from Pythagoras to Maxwell, to Newton, to Einstein, and many in-between. Think about that for a second. Something we all agree exists, but that the experts can’t agree on how it works, no matter how convincing and empirical their data and findings seems to be. So maybe light happens whenever we are compassionate; whenever we listen; whenever we are generous; whenever someone lays down their life (metaphorically or physically) for someone else. Perhaps light is the result of us mixing our lives in with others; instead of ignoring our neighbors, or being indifferent to them, we love them and care for them. It could be that light happens when we love our enemies; when we are empathetic; when we forgive and ask for forgiveness; whenever we’re honest and true and vulnerable; when we confess and break bread and come around the table together. Light happens wherever and whenever love has the final say. We’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. We're to come alongside those in darkness, cos we’ve been there, too, and probably will be again (light that baby up). Maybe being “as public as a city on a hill” has less to do with shouting our opinions and beliefs, and more to do with opening our hearts and doors. Light, as mysterious as it is, could perhaps be that simple.
LIGHT - PART FIVE John records Jesus saying: "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." (John 8:12 NLT) Mathew records him saying: "You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:14-16 MSG). So much light. Can you see it? Light is not singular in color but is made up of all existing colors. Every single color, bar none, when joined and stirred together; when they hold each other and mix into one another, they make the color of light. As I said in part one, scientists say that light is both obvious and mysterious. We can see it, but try to figure out how it works? That’s challenging. Whenever they think they’ve got it figured out, light beautifully surprises them. Across time, many well-respected scientists have had made many different, and often opposing, theories about light; from Pythagoras to Maxwell, to Newton, to Einstein, and many in-between. Think about that for a second. Something we all agree exists, but that the experts can’t agree on how it works, no matter how convincing and empirical their data and findings seems to be. So maybe light happens whenever we are compassionate; whenever we listen; whenever we are generous; whenever someone lays down their life (metaphorically or physically) for someone else. Perhaps light is the result of us mixing our lives in with others; instead of ignoring our neighbors, or being indifferent to them, we love them and care for them. It could be that light happens when we love our enemies; when we are empathetic; when we forgive and ask for forgiveness; whenever we’re honest and true and vulnerable; when we confess and break bread and come around the table together. Light happens wherever and whenever love has the final say. We’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. We're to come alongside those in darkness, cos we’ve been there, too, and probably will be again (light that baby up). Maybe being “as public as a city on a hill” has less to do with shouting our opinions and beliefs, and more to do with opening our hearts and doors. Light, as mysterious as it is, could perhaps be that simple.