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God has placed eternity in the hearts of his creatures. (Ecc.3:11) Earth is merely a prelude for what is to follow. But earth gives us glimpses, scents, hints that heighten our longing for the eternal, and awaken joy, however fleeting.
Recent Entries
Man In The MirrorJanuary 4, 2010
The mirror doesn't lie. Like, "I need to get in shape," we conclude, or "I gotta' do something about my appearance?" Spiritually speaking, it's important to look in the mirror of God's word, and make the changes accordingly, with the Holy Sprit's help.
Choices Have Consequences
January 1, 2010
Poets often see things as they are before the "general public" - you and me. Their insight into faith matters needs to be considered, and perhaps could serve as a wakeup call.
2010 and Eternity
December 31, 2009
As Paul said, the hour has come for us to wake up from our slumber. Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Henry Vaughn the poet had some specific ways to put "feet" on that suggestion, living each day with eternity in mind.
Ring In The New
December 30, 2009
A new year, a fresh start, resolutions, you've done it all before. But Paul did say, "forgetting what lies behind, I press on..." Here's how a great saint from several centuries ago determined to live out a new year.
Where Else Can We Go?
September 2, 2009
When Peter uttered these five words, they modeled the conclusion of every sincere believer - that Jesus alone is Lord, and has no rival - never has and never will. Simply stated, Jesus is the way to God, all other roads are cul-de-sacs.
Whatever We Ask....
August 6, 2009
"Well done, good and faithful servant" will ring throughout the heavens someday as millions receive their reward. This much we know. Our own energy will have produced nothing worth rewarding. But in God's power? Now that's a different story.
With Books, New Is Not Always Better
July 27, 2009
If you buy into the concept of progress, then supposedly we are smarter than those who came before us. And if you believe that, I have some swamp land in Florida for sale....
Strange Bedfellows: Longing and Joy
December 26, 2008
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Psalm 63:1-3
C. S. Lewis in "Surprised By Joy" wrote about his theory of joy, which he also called longing, desire or nostalgia. His theory holds that "human beings are conscious of a desire or longing that no natural happiness will satisfy."
Joy, then, is the fleeting, sweetly painful experience of longing for divine or numinous beauty - an elusive experience which often departs as quickly as it arrives. These longings are often evoked by nostalgic memories, encounters with nature, or certain books or music.
Kenneth MaCrae was a Scottish Presbyterian (is that redundant?) in the first half of the 20th Century, and in his journal describes a sunset he witnessed one particular day...
Monday, 3 November: Kilmuir
"In afternoon walked across to Staffin through the hill. The day was perfect and the scene, looking back from near the top of the Bealach in the light of the dying day, was perhaps the most exquisite ever I have looked upon. The sky was bright, almost flashing, with cloudlets of brilliant hues, the mountains black, sharply outlined against the sky, and the moor before me shadowy with the gloom of coming night."
"As I stood there, not a soul broke the stillness, not a bird cried, not a breath of wind ruffled through the silence. Nature herself seemed to be holding her breath at the beauty of the sight. I wished that by some means I might have been able to take away a reproduction of the picture to show the world, but I had to leave it behind me in the loneliness of the wilderness until night came and blotted it out." DIARY OF KENNETH MACRAE, page 157-8
MaCrae witnessed for a moment something transcendent, which he longed to capture, to put in a bottle a fleeting glory. But it came and went, heightening his longing for a time when there is no more night, as he got a whiff of an endless day. And in that moment, joy and longing held hands.
C.S. Lewis says that moments like what is described above are "not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited." Hopefully, these experiences will keep us seeking something more, like "some vague picnicker's hankering for a "better place."
Earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:25-26
C. S. Lewis in "Surprised By Joy" wrote about his theory of joy, which he also called longing, desire or nostalgia. His theory holds that "human beings are conscious of a desire or longing that no natural happiness will satisfy."
Joy, then, is the fleeting, sweetly painful experience of longing for divine or numinous beauty - an elusive experience which often departs as quickly as it arrives. These longings are often evoked by nostalgic memories, encounters with nature, or certain books or music.
Kenneth MaCrae was a Scottish Presbyterian (is that redundant?) in the first half of the 20th Century, and in his journal describes a sunset he witnessed one particular day...
Monday, 3 November: Kilmuir
"In afternoon walked across to Staffin through the hill. The day was perfect and the scene, looking back from near the top of the Bealach in the light of the dying day, was perhaps the most exquisite ever I have looked upon. The sky was bright, almost flashing, with cloudlets of brilliant hues, the mountains black, sharply outlined against the sky, and the moor before me shadowy with the gloom of coming night."
"As I stood there, not a soul broke the stillness, not a bird cried, not a breath of wind ruffled through the silence. Nature herself seemed to be holding her breath at the beauty of the sight. I wished that by some means I might have been able to take away a reproduction of the picture to show the world, but I had to leave it behind me in the loneliness of the wilderness until night came and blotted it out." DIARY OF KENNETH MACRAE, page 157-8
MaCrae witnessed for a moment something transcendent, which he longed to capture, to put in a bottle a fleeting glory. But it came and went, heightening his longing for a time when there is no more night, as he got a whiff of an endless day. And in that moment, joy and longing held hands.
C.S. Lewis says that moments like what is described above are "not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited." Hopefully, these experiences will keep us seeking something more, like "some vague picnicker's hankering for a "better place."
Earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:25-26
