Psalm 119:41-48
New International Version (NIV)
There's something pure about the delight of a child. As adults, we tend to complicate things (just go to any youth sporting event for evidence). Children have a way of enjoying something with pure delight. I was eating dinner with my daughter tonight and was startled by the way she expresses happiness -- it's something I long for. I'm so often weighed down by burdens and anxieties that pure joy is a reach, whereas my children can go from pain and tears to joy in the blink of an eye (and often right back again!).
When I read the Psalms, I get the impression of someone who has found pure joy in the Lord. It's not an uncomplicated joy, but while it recognizes the other forces at work in the world, the Psalmist has also found peace and joy in the Lord, and once they've been given a taste of this, they long for nothing more. It's compelling, for it draws me in as well -- this is the satisfaction of the soul that we long for, the divine bread that fills us in a way no earthly bread can ever hope to do. Come, taste and see, the Lord proclaims, and we will find him good -- we will find healing for our wounds and hope for our downcast eyes and eternal life for our mortal lives. In Him there is true joy, lasting joy. The Psalmist has found this and points us forward, shouting with thanksgiving for the life that is truly life.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Psalm 119:33-40
Psalm 119:33-40
English Standard Version (ESV)
I've been in school a lot. I've graduated from the 21st grade, and I've had good teachers and bad teachers and everything in between. Some lectured while others challenged us. The best teachers were the ones who could not only lead you by explaining the simple concepts but also challenge you to figure it out for yourself, while always guiding to keep you on task.
What are you learning? We're all students of Christ -- none of us have mastered his teachings or his example. The challenges increase as we grow, always calling us deeper, to learn and grow in new ways. It's important that we think of ourselves as students, because that calls us back to the teacher, keeping us humble, pulling us deeper. We sit at the Master's knee, longing to hear what he has to say to us, how he challenges us as we consider how to integrate his teachings into our lives. We use the Bible as our guide and let our prayer lives serve as instruction sessions, in which we allow the Holy Spirit to teach our souls how to learn and how to grow. Our fellow students teach us as well as we study together. May we continue to yearn for the Word of God to teach us, to raise us up, and to send us onward.
English Standard Version (ESV)
I've been in school a lot. I've graduated from the 21st grade, and I've had good teachers and bad teachers and everything in between. Some lectured while others challenged us. The best teachers were the ones who could not only lead you by explaining the simple concepts but also challenge you to figure it out for yourself, while always guiding to keep you on task.
What are you learning? We're all students of Christ -- none of us have mastered his teachings or his example. The challenges increase as we grow, always calling us deeper, to learn and grow in new ways. It's important that we think of ourselves as students, because that calls us back to the teacher, keeping us humble, pulling us deeper. We sit at the Master's knee, longing to hear what he has to say to us, how he challenges us as we consider how to integrate his teachings into our lives. We use the Bible as our guide and let our prayer lives serve as instruction sessions, in which we allow the Holy Spirit to teach our souls how to learn and how to grow. Our fellow students teach us as well as we study together. May we continue to yearn for the Word of God to teach us, to raise us up, and to send us onward.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Last night, around midnight, I finished up Amor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow. There's a reason that the 6,671 Amazon.com reviews average 4.5 stars. It's an amazing read. It's somewhat hard to describe -- a Soviet gentleman is sentenced to a life of house arrest in a Moscow hotel in 1922, and the remainder of the book is a catalogue of the events and interactions that comprise his life in the Metropol hotel. If you're like me, the description doesn't sound captivating, but from the moment I started this book on an airplane a few days ago, I couldn't put it down. It's beautifully written, a composed piece that the reader consumes like fine dining -- with each chapter as a separate course, drawing one deeper to enjoy and yet whetting the appetite for what comes next. I savored the story while devouring the book.
It's a great story, but there are fascinating themes that comprise the tale as well. A story of a man forced to live his life in one building is important in the modern age. So many of us are driven by an anxiety of what we're missing out. The syndrome even has a name (FOMO, or fear of missing out), and we spent hours scrolling through social media wondering what our friends or acquaintances are doing. We often end up jealous of the casual vacations or perfect family portraits of casual friends of friends, wondering why our life didn't turn out like that. Never mind that the reality of their life may not be entirely reflected in this one selected snapshot. That's another conversation.
What the book captures so well is the ability of the main character, Count Rostov, to satisfy himself in his surroundings. His life has not turned out like he imagined, and his surroundings are not what he would have chosen, but he delves into the riches of them, exploring their depths and building relationships within his confinement. He doesn't allow himself to waste away wishing he were someone else in another world, in another place. The book is not caught up in longing for the world beyond the walls -- rather it's a picture of how a life is built within the walls, and how the Count is richer for it.
What if we contented ourselves with our situations? It doesn't mean we stop striving, but instead of chasing after some unrealistic image of another life, we instead invested ourselves in developing the riches of the life we have. I once heard a preacher say that the 10th Commandment is the reward for following the other 9 -- that if we follow those nine, we won't want someone else's life. A life caught up in chasing what other people have will never be satisfied. Finding a way to be content with where we are, letting God satisfy us rather than trying to find another station in life and believing that will be satisfying, is what gets us into trouble, leaving us anxious and short-tempered.
The book also gives us the beauty of seeing how relationships deepen over decades. We have a somewhat transitory culture now -- we move so often, it's hard to have relationships that last for years, let alone decades. In the book, the Count has relationships that deepen over time, and at a certain point, he laments the loss of the one friend who knew him when he was truly young. These long-term relationships are a gift, because they are often friends who have seen us at our best and our worst, and they love us throughout. We don't have to wear masks around these friends, or pretend that we are something we are not. We don't hide our imperfections, but rather accept them, sometimes even embracing them, grateful for a friend who loves us in spite of them. Our weaknesses do not make us unlovable -- but rather reveal the wondrous ways that relationships build and surround us in the midst of our weaknesses.
It's hard for me to recommend A Gentleman in Moscow enough. It's a great book, entertaining and poignant. It's an adventure that takes place without much change in scenery and yet with wonderful development -- the characters deepen by the chapter, and we age with them, watching them grow and wishing them well. I loved it, and I miss it already.
It's a great story, but there are fascinating themes that comprise the tale as well. A story of a man forced to live his life in one building is important in the modern age. So many of us are driven by an anxiety of what we're missing out. The syndrome even has a name (FOMO, or fear of missing out), and we spent hours scrolling through social media wondering what our friends or acquaintances are doing. We often end up jealous of the casual vacations or perfect family portraits of casual friends of friends, wondering why our life didn't turn out like that. Never mind that the reality of their life may not be entirely reflected in this one selected snapshot. That's another conversation.
What the book captures so well is the ability of the main character, Count Rostov, to satisfy himself in his surroundings. His life has not turned out like he imagined, and his surroundings are not what he would have chosen, but he delves into the riches of them, exploring their depths and building relationships within his confinement. He doesn't allow himself to waste away wishing he were someone else in another world, in another place. The book is not caught up in longing for the world beyond the walls -- rather it's a picture of how a life is built within the walls, and how the Count is richer for it.
What if we contented ourselves with our situations? It doesn't mean we stop striving, but instead of chasing after some unrealistic image of another life, we instead invested ourselves in developing the riches of the life we have. I once heard a preacher say that the 10th Commandment is the reward for following the other 9 -- that if we follow those nine, we won't want someone else's life. A life caught up in chasing what other people have will never be satisfied. Finding a way to be content with where we are, letting God satisfy us rather than trying to find another station in life and believing that will be satisfying, is what gets us into trouble, leaving us anxious and short-tempered.
The book also gives us the beauty of seeing how relationships deepen over decades. We have a somewhat transitory culture now -- we move so often, it's hard to have relationships that last for years, let alone decades. In the book, the Count has relationships that deepen over time, and at a certain point, he laments the loss of the one friend who knew him when he was truly young. These long-term relationships are a gift, because they are often friends who have seen us at our best and our worst, and they love us throughout. We don't have to wear masks around these friends, or pretend that we are something we are not. We don't hide our imperfections, but rather accept them, sometimes even embracing them, grateful for a friend who loves us in spite of them. Our weaknesses do not make us unlovable -- but rather reveal the wondrous ways that relationships build and surround us in the midst of our weaknesses.
It's hard for me to recommend A Gentleman in Moscow enough. It's a great book, entertaining and poignant. It's an adventure that takes place without much change in scenery and yet with wonderful development -- the characters deepen by the chapter, and we age with them, watching them grow and wishing them well. I loved it, and I miss it already.
Psalm 119:25-32
Psalm 119:25-32
New International Version (NIV)
My prayer most mornings is that the Holy Spirit would help me want to love the Lord more than I want anything else. It's a simple prayer, and it doesn't take long to say, but it captures where I am right now -- I want to want God more than I want other things. I'm asking God to redirect the desires of my heart.
If we're honest, and I'm going to be because maybe it will help someone else, I'm not very good at follow through. I've been praying this for a while, and I'm not sure that my life looks any different. I still long for material things, for comfort and for wealth. I walk by the mini-mart in our building and see the dollar amount of the Powerball and think how much better life would be if I won (Someone much wiser than I once said that money doesn't change us - it only amplifies our personalities. I'm sure that's true of other people....) I want lots of things, but I have a hard time wanting to want God more than anything else. If I could train my heart to seek true satisfaction from God, then I would find lasting peace from worry and anxiety. If I could recognize that accepting the grace of Christ means halting my sinful pursuit of comfort for comfort's sake, then my life would have more margin in it because I wouldn't be chasing material things so often, but those material things are HARD to turn away from. I'd love to have a big house and a nice car and lots of stuff -- then I'd be happy, right?
I know the true answer to that, but I'm conditioned to seek that stuff. I've been training my whole life, and now I'm praying to God that I want God more than anything else. If I can move in that direction, it'll help the eyes of my heart see that true and lasting peace comes from God, and that generosity is a better path.
I keep praying. Someday, God willing, I'll take baby steps in the right direction. "Preserve my life according to your Word."
New International Version (NIV)
My prayer most mornings is that the Holy Spirit would help me want to love the Lord more than I want anything else. It's a simple prayer, and it doesn't take long to say, but it captures where I am right now -- I want to want God more than I want other things. I'm asking God to redirect the desires of my heart.
If we're honest, and I'm going to be because maybe it will help someone else, I'm not very good at follow through. I've been praying this for a while, and I'm not sure that my life looks any different. I still long for material things, for comfort and for wealth. I walk by the mini-mart in our building and see the dollar amount of the Powerball and think how much better life would be if I won (Someone much wiser than I once said that money doesn't change us - it only amplifies our personalities. I'm sure that's true of other people....) I want lots of things, but I have a hard time wanting to want God more than anything else. If I could train my heart to seek true satisfaction from God, then I would find lasting peace from worry and anxiety. If I could recognize that accepting the grace of Christ means halting my sinful pursuit of comfort for comfort's sake, then my life would have more margin in it because I wouldn't be chasing material things so often, but those material things are HARD to turn away from. I'd love to have a big house and a nice car and lots of stuff -- then I'd be happy, right?
I know the true answer to that, but I'm conditioned to seek that stuff. I've been training my whole life, and now I'm praying to God that I want God more than anything else. If I can move in that direction, it'll help the eyes of my heart see that true and lasting peace comes from God, and that generosity is a better path.
I keep praying. Someday, God willing, I'll take baby steps in the right direction. "Preserve my life according to your Word."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)