Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a divine center, a speaking voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto itself…. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it…. Here is the slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action.
~Thomas R. Kelly (1893-1941)
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him… Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God… If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh… If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Colossians 2 & 3
Oh beloved, it is true. There is so much of the world hammering at us for its attention. And the problem is that as we give it attention. It does not give us life, it actually begins to choke the life out of us.
News
Blogs
Email
Politics
Economics
Religion
Entertainment
Errands
Issues
Trivia
Worries
And it is not that these things don’t have any relevance. It is just that to set our focus on them is to make them the paradigm through which we see that which is so much bigger than the daily things of this existence. Said more simply, we can miss the very large by looking at it through the very small.
Many, though, fear that in becoming less involved in the minutiae of life, we may become less informed or even less able to deal with the issues going on around us. But the problem is that the minutiae never really point us to any sort of solutions. They usually just wrap us tighter and tighter around the axle of what is wrong with our world.
This fool of a writer feels the pull. There is so much going on in this world. So many potentially beautiful things. So many potentially horrible things. We feel that if we just somehow know enough, we will be able to do something about the problem. And we can’t.
Oh, it’s not that we cannot have any effect on the events of this world. We can. But the work required to bring about change does not come from churning more data. The work required to change the world must be exceedingly more strategic than this.
Accomplishing major change by processing data is a bit like trying to sew by pushing the string through the eye of the needle. This first step is absolutely required, but once the needle is threaded, the plans, strategies and creativity of the seamstress are so much more important in getting the job done.
Eternal focus is the same kind of thing. Surely eternity shines a light on all things. In the light of eternity we can see even the smallest of important details. But the distractions and details now have lost their ability to change the eventual outcome of our lives.
Again, said more simply: The tyranny of the urgent is broken by the bright and freeing light of forever. And once we see things in the right light, we actually have the ability to help make the changes that do need to be made.
So beloved, are you feeling like the world is getting a grip on your soul? Maybe it is not the world. Maybe it is because you are simply giving it way too much attention. Tonight is your night. Time to live free in the Light of eternity.
