from "The Sacred Romance" Brent Curtis and John Eldredge 1997
"Our longing for intimacy gives us the greatest scent of the joys that lie ahead. Being left out is one of life's most painful experiences. Throughout our lives, each one of us lives with a constant nagging that we never quite fit in, we never truly belong. So we hide parts of ourselves to try and fit in, or kill our desire to be an insider, rather than let our longing lead us toward the true intimacy for which we were designed.
On the other hand there is the joy of having someone save a place for us. We walk into a crowded room at church or at a dinner party and someone across the way waves us over, pointing to a chair he's held on to especially for us. For a moment we feel a sense of relief, a taste of being on the inside.
Now consider the words of Jesus in John 14:2 - "I'm going to prepare a place for you." He is saving a place in heaven especially for each of us. When we walk into the crowded excitement of the wedding feast of the Lamb, with the sound of a thousand conversations, laughter and music, the clinking of glasses, and one more time our heart leaps with the hope that we might be let into the sacred circle, we will not be disappointed. We'll be welcomed to the table by our Lover himself. No one will have to scramble to find another chair, to make room for us at the end of the table, or rustle up a place setting. There will be a seat with our name on it, held open at Jesus' command for us and no other........
Monday, January 31, 2011
Heart or head?
I am planning some teaching sessions on prayer. I love the description someone has of meditation. He said it was 'descending WITH the mind into the heart'.
Some people engage life directly from the heart - we say of them, "They are all heart." Others engage life mostly from the head. They ponder, analyse, calculate, question, study and learn. They can be considered too 'detatched'. But for them, the heart can burst into flame at any point. It is a case of looking for, or falling over the doorways.
Clearly for me, a head person, water is a doorway to heart encounters. And sometimes a phrase, in the Scriptures or something I am reading, will just captivate and hold me and everything within me is suddenly vibrating with joy, or wonder, or tenderness or love.
Over these last three weeks, with some visits away, then some days at home - I have found it hard to find those doorways. I 'went with the flow' of those I was with... but it left me feeling rather empty. I must, next holiday season, be less accomodating to others, and more to the need of these doorways to my heart. I am bouyed by the knowledge that in a few weeks I will be on a 6 day retreat where I expect more heart encounters to occur.
I need to go back to letting the Scripture assist me in 'descending with the mind into the heart' - a simple but effective way of meeting the Lord in his word.
Some people engage life directly from the heart - we say of them, "They are all heart." Others engage life mostly from the head. They ponder, analyse, calculate, question, study and learn. They can be considered too 'detatched'. But for them, the heart can burst into flame at any point. It is a case of looking for, or falling over the doorways.
Clearly for me, a head person, water is a doorway to heart encounters. And sometimes a phrase, in the Scriptures or something I am reading, will just captivate and hold me and everything within me is suddenly vibrating with joy, or wonder, or tenderness or love.
Over these last three weeks, with some visits away, then some days at home - I have found it hard to find those doorways. I 'went with the flow' of those I was with... but it left me feeling rather empty. I must, next holiday season, be less accomodating to others, and more to the need of these doorways to my heart. I am bouyed by the knowledge that in a few weeks I will be on a 6 day retreat where I expect more heart encounters to occur.
I need to go back to letting the Scripture assist me in 'descending with the mind into the heart' - a simple but effective way of meeting the Lord in his word.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A superb symbol
We have had a week by the sea (and more coming soon). I was walking along a deserted beach early in the morning. The waves pounded rythmically on the shore - and I looked out to the vast expanse of ocean. We were on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. I was facing towards South Africa - thousands of miles away! And the song came to mind - "Here is love, vast as the ocean, loving-kindness as the flood..." James Jordan has said, 'Why did the writer use this image of the vast ocean to describe the love of God? Probably because one day he fell into it!'
I was moved to worship, standing by that vast ocean in front of me. It is a superb symbol of what God has called us into - immersed us in! His vast ocean of love and goodness and mercy and kindness and richness. Just thinking about it washed me again in his love. I fell into this ocean years ago when I was 30. My sense of being held by his love stayed for some time, but then I lost touch - and dryness and sinful choices robbed me for some time of this joy. Then again, it returned one day by the sea, as I pondered what it was to be emmersed in Christ. And now my understanding has enlarged (we are to grow in grace ...what is freely given, and understanding, how our minds and hearts interpret and view what is freely given) so that I can recall and return to that grace simply and easily.
I was moved to worship, standing by that vast ocean in front of me. It is a superb symbol of what God has called us into - immersed us in! His vast ocean of love and goodness and mercy and kindness and richness. Just thinking about it washed me again in his love. I fell into this ocean years ago when I was 30. My sense of being held by his love stayed for some time, but then I lost touch - and dryness and sinful choices robbed me for some time of this joy. Then again, it returned one day by the sea, as I pondered what it was to be emmersed in Christ. And now my understanding has enlarged (we are to grow in grace ...what is freely given, and understanding, how our minds and hearts interpret and view what is freely given) so that I can recall and return to that grace simply and easily.
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