we gathered together from the corners
to discuss this endless night
and amidst the covering shroud
resolved to be songs of sunshine
sung against the restraining dark;
that we, having lost illumination,
would thus become luminous,
little lights unto ourselves
until the dawn finds her way
and takes her place once more
Month: April 2014
The Will of God
Did you think I was going to tell you what it is? No such luck. I have often run into people who are struggling to know what the will of God is for their lives. I have sought specifics myself. I have even met some people who seem to know. I met one woman who warned me not to tell her son-in-law about a particular job he would have been awesome at because it was God’s will that her daughter remain overseas as a missionary and I’d best not mess that up.
The reality is that unlike “The Way” the will of God is not usually that narrow or specific as to dictate the details of our lives. I have met people who have been so distraught over having possibly missed the will of God somehow that they are beside themselves that they might be forever off-track.
The reality is you are doing the will of God wherever you are seeking/attempting to live a life of obedience…no matter what you are doing.
It is not God’s will that you find that one person destined for you. It is God’s will that as you seek that person (or simply journey hoping to meet such a person) that your journey be in submission to that which is God.
It is not God’s will that you be a pastor so much as it is God’s will that you pastor wherever you are to whomever you can. Should that lead to a vocational role in ministry so be it…but we must be careful how cavalierly we attempt to use Gods will in our lives to justify personal desires or to interfere in other people’s lives.
We say “I am doing this because it is God’s will” when we should say “I am doing this because I want to and think I can honour God along the way” because this is closer to the reality.
I have heard stories of men telling women that they knew it was God’s will that they should become their wife. This is not only wrong but abusive and dishonest.
“It is God’s will that I go to Bahamas and mission.”
Is it? Is it really? Does this mean if you go to the impoverished First Nations of Canada in the north you are not doing God’s will? There is nothing wrong with ministering to people in the Bahamas…there is something wrong with claiming that this, above any other place, is where God wants you to minister as if God’s will is so exclusive (and warm).
The dangers of assuming so narrow a definition of God’s will is it contributes to an abusive theology. A leader can claim it is God’s will for their congregation to offer him their money (and in some cases their daughters). I would say sons as well but I have yet to encounter a female leader in the church who has been as abusive as our men have at times and most of this abuse has been done under the warrant of “God’s will”.
The reality is all that we do is our will…it becomes God’s will when we seek to act in a way compatible with that will. We are not puppets of God’s will as much as we would like to be. The all-knowing, foreknowledge of God is not the same as inescapable fate.
Do not be discouraged if you think you have lost sight of God’s will in some way. What does God want of us? Micah sums it up best –
“God has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6-8
The brilliant thing is that you can do all of this, God’s will, no matter what you do, no matter who you are with (or not with) in life, no matter what your job.
Captain America is Superman
That’s my argument and I am sticking to it. Captain America is Superman 2.0. I mean Captain America is Marvel’s attempt to create Superman but in a way that is slightly more approachable.
Both characters were created for one reason – to embody all that the creators saw as good in humanity, particularly American humanity but frankly any nation would be pleased to have a citizen reflect such values.
The problem with DC’s Superman always comes to light whenever a movie is attempted – Superman, as incredible as he is, is completely unapproachable and nearly impossible to place in a universe alongside any other character. His attributes are ridiculous. He is Christ in many ways except Superman’s Christ would not go to the cross without first seeking to completely eradicate the Roman army.
When Marvel created Captain America they created a similar character in regards to the values he represented but notched down the invulnerability a few metres making the character much more believable and approachable.
Both are ideals to strive for but because Cap cannot rely solely on his strength he must showcase his values more often and the willingness to sacrifice himself for others which so often comes to the fore. It also removes having to create hokey plot devices like kryptonite after you realize you made him just a tad to invulnerable and have to find a way to get beneath the armour.
Superman in many ways is a blunt instrument in comparison to Captain America who is often a little more of a precision scalpal. This approach is why Marvel so often wins the battle over DC in terms of character development and story.
Descending
Sometimes the world appears to conspire against us. We are humming along when a series of unconnected and unfortunate incidents strike in such a way and at such a time as to knock us from equilibrium and potentially send us sprawling.
You know how it is – winter decides not to end, something annoying happens at work, the cat…oh lord don’t get me started about the cat, the car has a costly problem, etc. etc.
These things on there own are usually very manageable and sometimes even altogether they can be conquered and moved past with barely a glance backward. But other times, when we are living as knife-edge people, its enough to tip you over.
When this happens a spiral often occurs that must be like free falling from an airplane and realizing your chute is not going to open in time. You can see the ground rushing up to meet you but you just don’t think you can do anything and so you resign yourself to the fate of crashing.
Thankfully you are not, in reality, free falling from a plane and you do have options in these moments. One of those options is to stop. Stopping is not rising…but importantly it is not falling either. It is a conscious (and often difficult) effort to place yourself into emotional suspended animation. In this time you have the opportunity to take stock of things – it is an opportunity to remind yourself that despite the load you are carrying there are good things happening in you, to you and around you…this is an effort at hope. Not manufacturing hope but discovering it…mining it and putting it on display in a way that dispels the weight…it makes it manageable until it has been carried.
We all do different things in this moment – some of us sing, some simply exist and observe, some of us write blog posts…all of these are efforts at re-engaging an engine that has stalled somewhere deep inside of us…that engine that keeps us looking up and moving forward.
I remind myself very intentionally that I am loved. In a myriad and variety of ways I am loved and loved deeply. I remind myself that I am capable of carrying the load and that there are people who actually want me to ask them for help so I don’t have to do it alone. With my eyes open I begin also to see that there is beauty in the world if I take the time to look for it and beauty suggests a deeper and more enduring hope is happening in ways I cannot understand but can participate in.
Through these thoughts and efforts the sun begins to peek through the clouds and I can begin my descent to earth knowing that I don’t need the chute anymore because I can fly.
move like a thunder cloud
breathing is not for the faint of heart
so if you’re going to do it
breathe fire and ash
so you move like a thunder cloud
through the perilous plains of the world
scattering all that lies before you
fall
when i was a kid
i would stand naked at the edge,
looking into deep, ragged quarry
and the dark, cold waters below
wondering if there was a rock
hidden just beneath the surface
then
i would lean over
eyes wide open and
fall
life lived under the influence
it’s a sneaky shade,
it’s a snaky shade
that walks like a mist
just behind and around,
gently steering this ship
in ways i cannot see
like a strong current at night
when the captain is asleep;
this is life lived under the influence
a shadow lengthening at dusk
this small echo
is a stone dropped in the well
but
it
never
stops
it just gets louder
like a ripple in the air
growing
spreading
a shadow lengthening at dusk
golden is the end
golden is the end of things
inflamed with a different kind of sun;
it will take it all in fire and melt,
it will make us one,
it will make us none;
lost together while the sky explodes
Harnessing Chaos 