A brief departure from the cacophony
“The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness.” Matthew 4:1
I heard myself lamenting the loss of poetry in these times. Ranting disguised as pragmatism is the vapid norm, and it leaves my soul empty in the worst way. So I’ve been doing a mental detox. There are several ways I like to do this. First, get still. Once the furious waves settle you start to hear the wisdom of your own heart echoing the whispers of the Holy Spirit.
I understand the value, especially monetarily, of “being relatable.” But these days, “relatable” is tangled up with “status quo” and manipulation and things that take you farther from the beautiful mystery of who you are.
When you find God, you find the truth of YOU, too. You discover the joy of your unique “you-ness.” In his collection of short essays, Leap Over a Wall, Eugene Peterson reflects on the lessons we learn from David. In the wilderness where David gets alone with God, he learns “holiness.” Not “holiness” in the religiously crass way some say it to mean “too good for this world,” but “holy” as in finding yourself in God. Peterson says, “Holy is our best word to describe the human aliveness that comes from dealing with God-Alive. WE’RE MOST HUMAN WHEN WE DEAL WITH GOD. Any other way of life leaves us less human, less ourselves.” (Emphasis mine).
THAT’S the poetry of who we are. “Poetry” is the art of saying more than words can say. It’s the 3D-ness of life, the shadowbox view that tells the whole story behind your tears, your smiles, and your choices.
We are, in any time and culture, a work of art. I refuse to believe otherwise, even when I feel the flatline hopelessness of a world full of opinion that has so little to do with the magnificent everything of life.
God is the Master artisan. He called everything He had made “good,” including us. When we make ourselves available to this goodness, God continues to design a wonderful world through us.
Maybe I should offer more commentary on the pollical-religious issues of our times. I probably will. But today I’m taking a break to gaze into the Truth behind all truth. I’m headed to the wilderness with wild abandon and desperate joy to get my mind quiet enough to listen to what God has to say about all of this. The answers won’t come in bullet points and legislated non-negotiables. It will be, instead, the fluid always and forever changing blue-sky, soft clouds, loud thunder, a song, a prayer, a conversation, a hug from my grandkids, or sitting with a cup of coffee, a journal and Bible for a little stroll in the wilderness with Jesus.