My original plan was to write a rather lengthy article about Ted Nugent being at tonight's State of the Union address. In the middle of my original draft, however, my mind took a left turn and I realized that I really wanted to write something else.
There's not enough wonder in our world.
Really. Our politics is void of any sense of possibility not least because I think, at some point, we gave up our ability to appreciate the transcendence, the possibility, inherent in any given moment of life. Not just our life together, but our personal lives as well have been drained of any notion there might well be something beautiful about them, something mysterious, something wonderful.
For a long time, I've been fascinated with the fact that the word often translated as "fear" in the Old Testament, when referring to our need to "fear the LORD", would better be translated as "awe". That combination of fear and love, of wonder and apprehension, when facing the unknown - that should be how we approach the God who created the Universe, the God who is the Father of our Lord and Savior, who called Jesus the Son in whom the Father was well pleased, the God who raised this same Jesus from the dead. How else should we approach this God?
We are told by St. Paul that in Christ and with Christ we can approach the throne of God with boldness, a position I think makes sense. In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes that we Christians are like Moses coming off the mountain with the Law, reflecting the Glory of God; unlike Moses, however, we can do so with unveiled faces, letting the light of the Glory of God shine for the world to see.
Our lives reflect the Glory of God. In that and with that understanding, how is it possible we can move through our days without wonder? How is it possible not to appreciate the moments we're offered by our gracious God who holds us and keeps us? Far too much of our lives is spent complaining, far too little in grateful thanks and wonder that right here, right now, we are alive, surrounded by those we love, in a world we still barely know or understand.
The matter is simple enough for me: I would much rather celebrate the possibility we have to be who and what God has made us to be, and through Jesus Christ saved us to be, than sit around and complain about how ridiculous our politics are, and how ridiculous far too many people in our public life. Before you finish, take a moment and just consider where you are, at this particular moment in time. Consider the people around you. Consider the world outside the door of your house or apartment. Have the courage to consider, in faith, that all of it is a loving gift from God. Made for us, so that we might live in praise and thanksgiving for God in return.
What would the world be like, what would our lives be like, if we each did this, just for a few moments each day?
There's not enough wonder in our world.
Really. Our politics is void of any sense of possibility not least because I think, at some point, we gave up our ability to appreciate the transcendence, the possibility, inherent in any given moment of life. Not just our life together, but our personal lives as well have been drained of any notion there might well be something beautiful about them, something mysterious, something wonderful.
For a long time, I've been fascinated with the fact that the word often translated as "fear" in the Old Testament, when referring to our need to "fear the LORD", would better be translated as "awe". That combination of fear and love, of wonder and apprehension, when facing the unknown - that should be how we approach the God who created the Universe, the God who is the Father of our Lord and Savior, who called Jesus the Son in whom the Father was well pleased, the God who raised this same Jesus from the dead. How else should we approach this God?
We are told by St. Paul that in Christ and with Christ we can approach the throne of God with boldness, a position I think makes sense. In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes that we Christians are like Moses coming off the mountain with the Law, reflecting the Glory of God; unlike Moses, however, we can do so with unveiled faces, letting the light of the Glory of God shine for the world to see.
Our lives reflect the Glory of God. In that and with that understanding, how is it possible we can move through our days without wonder? How is it possible not to appreciate the moments we're offered by our gracious God who holds us and keeps us? Far too much of our lives is spent complaining, far too little in grateful thanks and wonder that right here, right now, we are alive, surrounded by those we love, in a world we still barely know or understand.
The matter is simple enough for me: I would much rather celebrate the possibility we have to be who and what God has made us to be, and through Jesus Christ saved us to be, than sit around and complain about how ridiculous our politics are, and how ridiculous far too many people in our public life. Before you finish, take a moment and just consider where you are, at this particular moment in time. Consider the people around you. Consider the world outside the door of your house or apartment. Have the courage to consider, in faith, that all of it is a loving gift from God. Made for us, so that we might live in praise and thanksgiving for God in return.
What would the world be like, what would our lives be like, if we each did this, just for a few moments each day?
