We are immortals dreaming
the terrible dream
the terrible dream
of mere mortality.
~Peter Kreeft
~Peter Kreeft
Any reader who has visited here more than a few times has probably picked up on the fact that this writer is an irredeemable mystic. For him, all form is but a symbol of the formless. Color, sound, scent… they are all but signposts pointing to a deeper reality. This is because he has a core belief that the spiritual is simply more real than the physical world we inhabit.
One has only to look to Jesus for proof. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared through walls to get to His disciples. Was this because He was some ephemeral vapor? Of course not. He ate food to dispel that myth. Jesus’ glorified body was now MORE REAL than the doors and walls that tried to block His path.
Let’s not miss this… On that night, the physical gave way to the Spiritual. It always does.
The wonderful thing about the life of a mystic is that just about everything means something. And the things that are meaningless quickly become decidedly uninteresting. We live in a world of connection, of association, of abject hunger to get to the bottom of it all.
Then, by His glorious grace, some of us find it. Rather… We find Him. Oh, beloved! He is so Beautiful. So Good. So True. So Real. In a mystic, the parable of the Pearl of Great Price becomes a gravitational central body of our spirits.
Him. And it all finally makes sense. All of it. Forever.
Oh, a mystic is no better… Maybe we are the weaker ones. Maybe we are those that need to see a sign in order to believe. But G_d knows what each of us needs. He’ll do whatever it takes to bring us into a right relationship with Himself. Have no doubt, though, my pragmatic friends, this is an E-ticket ride.
In Him we dive as He plunges into us… No more doubt. No more fear. No more worry. Anxiety wanes, and courage begins to fill our hearts. As we abandon this plane, His Love imbues us fully. All is well. Dodge bullets? No need… We are fully alive in Him, and it is only now. We see the clock tick, but are strangely aware that the passage of time has ceased.
Then He pours out on us a gift of incomprehensible worth: Pain.
Pain…. and the mystic simply screams, OOOWWW!!! That hurts!!!! Then runs to his Father like a baby. It is a gift from Him, and that not of ourselves. This conviction that everything means something and that the spiritual is most real drives us to the only One who will have an explanation.
Sometimes there is no answer. And this is hard. But not so hard for a mystic as it is for our brothers more attached to the physical world. Again, others are not wrong, just different. Without each member, the Body would surely not work.
But a mystic, on better days, merely perceives pain as a solvent that works to dissolve any material existing between his spirit and the Spirit of the One who Loves him. The more intense the pain, the greater the expectation and sense of wonder. Oh, we scream and cry… but secretly, we’re excited to see what He is about to show us. We wouldn’t trade times like this for the world.
And sometimes, in our most purpose-fulfilling moments, we can actually hear Him moving towards us through the pain. He is using it to scrub away the space between us. He is weeping with passion as He tears down anything that would keep the two of us apart. He calls out saying, OH friend! It’s OK! I AM here. There is no other way right now. Will you trust me? I really do have this under control. It’s just going to hurt. That’s all, nothing else has changed. All is well.
And it really is. Now and forever.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
~Revelation 21:1-4
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HANDS
The Benjamin Gate
Jesus, I feel You near me
Your hands giving life to my body
Your spirit healing life to me
Holding my heart in sweet security
(Chorus:)
God, I need Your grace
Let Your Spirit rescue me
God, I need Your love
Let Your grace shine through me
Jesus, you fill the space in me
Sealing these dreams in shapes of purity
Freeing my heart to deep eternity
(Chorus)
God, I seek Your face
Let Your Spirit rescue me
God, I need Your love
Let Your grace shine through me
