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Thursday, 05 November 2009

No Vision, No Life

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18a KJV

The King James Version is possibly the only translation that translates it this way, but I strongly believe there is a lot of truth in this phrase. For the past week and a half, I've had almost no focus, no vision for anything beyond getting the next immediate task done that I had to do. After finishing a task, I would fall into wasting my time in front of a screen, be it a TV or a computer, being very efficiently unproductive. I would subsequently feel worse off and try to numb it with more of the same uselessness.

As a result, both my academics and my walk with God have suffered as of late, causing a nasty, self-perpetuating cycle. Although now I understand why this proverb is so true. Where there is no vision, there exists no purpose; where there is no purpose, hope is not to be found. But why?

"Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."¹ When my focus, my vision, my purpose, my hope is so wrapped up in the short term, it passes away with the moment is was invested in. With no hope, there is no purpose to drive my actions. Without purpose, there is no vision for how to fulfill that purpose and obtain that which is hoped for. Without vision, there can exists no focus to accomplish the finite elements of the vision.

So what now? I need to lift my eyes back up to my final goal, to the crown that will last forever,² to Him who is my hope, and will ever be the source thereof. But how do I balance that with all the urgent tasks and commitments I have that demand my attention and energies this instant? I'm still trying to figure it out, and you'll need to figure out what this means for your own life. (Though I would not be opposed to talking about it with you.)

¹Romans 8:24b-25 NIV
²1 Corinthians 9:25 NIV

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

Frigid

Step outside, breathe in shallow,
for deep breaths are frozen
into short, sharp inhalations
as the icy coldness seeps
through your clothes,
kisses your skin,
cuddles in closer
til it's clutching your bones,
shakes like a leaf
to make your bones shudder
and your whole body tremble,
flexing your muscles loosens the grip
until you can get back inside
and give it the slip.

© 2009

Tuesday, 27 October 2009

Rethink

I am not seeking how to give my every moment over to God right now, but rather how I can every moment give my 'right now' over to God.

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

Morsels: The Blue Ribbon

mor•sel |ˈmôrsəl|
noun– a small piece or amount

On Being Last
"But many who are first will be last, and the last first... whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." (Mark 10:31,43b-44 TNIV)

The problem with working so hard to "get ahead" is that we leave so many people behind. Relatively few people are considered great, fewer are at the top. And when the top is where we want to be, we often seek to be near those people, to be noticed so that we can—in some way—touch the top. This is where the great stand above all else, and the lowly are forgotten.

Here, now look at it this way, let me flip it over. How wonderful the reality where great are the servants, and foremost are the slaves. The first are on bottom, the great are underneath—holding up the weary, lifting up the downtrodden, and seeking the forgotten. How beautiful the world where everyone can be great, where others are always placed before self, putting to death the greed and corruption that is society's decay.

How glorious the hope we find in the knowledge of a restored reality to come, with a true and just King to reign. How bright a hope that spurs us on to seek the advancement of the kingdom that brings such a perfect justice today. How amazing the Grace that allows us to participate in bringing this justice to others.

May our feet always be beautiful (Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:15b), and may our identity never be found in our perceived position.