may you feel the beating of the divine heart -
constant,
steady,
the pulse of Christ,
driving the life of the universe.
may you know his character and will,
blessing the righteous and unrighteous alike
lifegiving blood flowing to friend and enemy,
grace showered freely
to we who deserve it not.
and may your heart beat as his,
bringing life and assurance
to a world of chaos -
steady hope of life yet to come.
i was randomly watching the west wing today and saw a scene i’d never really taken the time to notice before. it occurs right after President Bartlet has been shot by a group called “West Virginia White Pride”. he’s talking to toby ziegler, a deputy who wants to crack down on extremist groups as a result of the shooting.
BARTLET
You want to take a leave of absence.
TOBY
I was thinking I might need some time off, yes sir.
BARTLET
That’s no problem, Toby.
TOBY
Okay.
BARTLET
Not a problem at all.
TOBY
Thank you, sir. [turns to leave]
BARTLET
15 minutes. It’s time to get up off the mat, Toby.
…
Bartlet puts on his glasses and roots around for a file and hands it to Toby.
TOBY
What’s this?
BARTLET
Keyhole satellite photographs. It’s the headquarters for West Virginia White Pride headquarters. It’s a diner outside Blacksburg. Every night for the past 12 weeks, I’ve picked up the phone and called the Attorney General, fully prepared to say two words: “take ‘em.” And then I hang up the phone because I know it’ll be better tomorrow and better the day after that. We saw a lynching, Toby. That’s why it feels like this.
TOBY
I’m not sure I’m going to come out of the other side of this.
BARTLET
I’m not sure I can either. But until we are sure, I think we should keep coming into work every day.
it couples with what i’ve posted here before: we get better. it’s a wonderful trait of the human experience that we get better. day after day, we put the struggles of the past behind us. we learn to deal with what has happened, and look forward to what is ahead. we get better.
on the way back from dallas i stopped off on the side of the road and took some pictures. it’s amazing the amount of life that we drive by every day and never take the time to notice. here are just a few of the things i found in my 10 minutes on the side of the road…
full gallery available here.
as you depart into a thorny world
may your steps continue the journey of Christ.
may you serve with open hands and open hearts
loving recklessly those you encounter,
transforming them into the image of Christ.
MAy you feast at the table of the Lord,
nourished by his constant provision and blessing,
sustained by his hand.
And may you invite others to the banquet,
a simple beggar
sharing heaven’s bread.
May you daily live in the story of Christ,
your life a constant reflection of God’s glory,
your actions a constant extension of his hands.
May the Light of God, spoken into existence,
be continually around you,
shining into a dark and stormy world,
rays of hope to all you meet.
And may you embrace life,
certain of a beautiful end to your journey,
safe in the arms of the Author of Life.
we got to play around in the photography studio yesterday, which was pretty fun… some of the results:
tomorrow i hope to catch up on some of the old benedictions that i didn’t post at the end of the year.
blessings
I tend to agree with her.
We participate in elaborate funerals. We gather our dead in large rolling cemeteries. We construct huge monuments and memorials to commemorate those who have gone before us. Time and time again we return to the memory of the past, dwelling on what was instead of focusing on what is.
How often do we do that with God?
Do we return time and time again to the tomb, remembering Jesus as he was, treating him like he’s still there?
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here;
He has risen!”
If you were going to write a song about that, what would it say?
“There is a God. He is alive!”
Maybe someone should do that.
Sadly, I still think my friend is right. We sing songs like “I serve a risen Savior” and “Our God He is Alive!” but seem to act in so many ways like God does not exist at all. Perhaps the most foolish group of people in the world are those who claim to believe God exists, yet act as if he does not. Kreeft has a brilliant comment on the popularity of this position in his ethics class.
My hope is that we will give the death of Christ the proper reverence it deserves, but not too much - that it will become another part of the story of Christ - not the only part.
just got in from flying around town with pops… definitely have a bit more respect for aircraft photographers… it was as bouncy as could be up there. at any rate, here’s a picture of good old lubbock high school from the air.
enjoy!
Then the wind died down
and it was completely calm.”
I wonder what that storm was like. It must have been some sight to see – enough to scare the serious fishermen and make them think they were in danger of death.
These guys had been on that lake their whole lives. They’d grown up there. Their dad’s had taught them how to move the boats and cast their lines there. They had been across that lake hundreds of times. They’d probably seen hundreds of storms. They knew that place like the back of their hands.
They didn’t expect the storm to come – they took Jesus in the boat and headed out across the lake with no question of whether it was safe or not. I can see the clear skies as they set out. Storm? What storm? Not a cloud in the sky!
But then it came. Unexpected. Unplanned. Out in the middle of the lake, far from land, there was nothing that they could do but continue on. The winds and waves buffeted the ship. They broke over the boat, and these guys who hadn’t worried about the storm suddenly began to worry a lot about the storm.
And then there’s Jesus. Their teacher. Laying in the hold of the boat, sleeping. Doesn’t he get sea-sick? After all – he’s a carpenter! He builds these boats, he doesn’t sail on them.
“Teacher! Don’t you care if we drown?”
“Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
And Jesus arises.
And Jesus speaks.
And the world is calm.
And the world is silent.
And I look at the storms in my life. They’re quite a sight to see – let me assure you. Problems that have even a veteran like me worried.
I’ve grown up dealing with problems. I’ve grown up dealing with chaos in my life. After all, that’s what they teach you. “The American Way.” Deal with your problems yourself. We’re no stranger to difficulty and struggle. It’s what makes us the people who we are.
I don’t usually expect the storm. It isn’t like I really want it, after all. While problems and storms are a part of life, they’re never a pleasant one, and I’d just as soon avoid them if possible. I can imagine myself, standing on the shore as I get ready to set out on my newest adventures. Storm? What storm? Not a cloud in the sky!
But then it comes. Unexpected. Unplanned. Out in the middle of the lake, far from land, far from help, there is nothing that I can do but continue on. The winds and waves buffet my life. They break over me, and suddenly I begin to worry a lot about the storm.
And then there’s Jesus. My teacher. And where do I find him, but calmly sleeping over in the corner!
“Teacher! Don’t you care if I drown?”
“Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
And Jesus rises.
And Jesus speaks
And the world is calm.
And the world is silent.
“Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
I often forget the power of Christ. Too often it’s an abstract or distant thing, something that is impossible to comprehend or something that only existed long ago - but nothing that is immediate, present, and real.
When I see the power of God displayed, it almost always confuses me - how did that happen? Where did it come from? Can it really be?
When I read these words again, I am reminded of the lyrics of an old song:
As a mother stills her child
you have calmed the oceans wild.
Boisterous waves obey thy will
when you say to them, “Be still!”
Wonderous Sovereign of the sea,
Jesus Savior pilot me.
Wonderous Sovereign of the sea,
Jesus Savior pilot me.