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I read this and was just swept away… serves as a reminder to always seek…
Explaining Away Light- Jill Carattini
Ballet lost some of its wonder when it was explained. It was a class that was supposed to lift my mind, lighten my spirit, and boost my grade point average. Instead it became a one-credit nightmare: a class dedicated to dissecting moves I could not duplicate, within a semester that seemed to slowly dismember my fascination with dance.
Explanations sometimes have a way of leaving us with a sense of loss. Students note this phenomenon regularly. Expounded principles of light refraction and water particles seem to explain away the rainbow, or at least some of its mystique. Air pressure, gravity, and the laws of physics deconstruct the optical mystery of the curve ball. Knowledge and experience can leave us with a sense of disappointment or disenchantment.
I recently read an article that scientifically explained the glow of a firefly. The author noted the nerves and chemical compounds that make the “fire” possible, pointing out that it is merely a signal used for mating and far from the many romantic myths that have long surrounded it. I put the article down with a sigh. And then a thought occurred to me in a manner not unlike the promise of Christ: The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.(1) Where nerves and photocytes seem to explain away the glow of the firefly, have we any more erased the miracle of light?
However accurate or inaccurate our explanations might be, they sometimes have a way of leading us to short-sided conclusions. They have also led us to outright incongruity. We have now tried with great effort to define humanity as an impersonal product of chance, an adult germ in a vast cosmic machine. We have brusquely described life as a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing, only to claim this should not lead us to despair. We have declared our appetites the gods of a better religion, while insisting both God and religion to be an invention of the human psyche. We scoff at the notion of a savior who frees the captive or restores the fallen, while maintaining we live with every qualification for human dignity, distinction, and freedom. But are these even realistic applications of our own philosophies? Do the explanations warrant the conclusions?
On the contrary, we are undermining our own mines. In the words of R.C. Sproul, we are living on borrowed capital. Why should a product of chance have intrinsic value? Why would an impersonal, cosmic accident see herself as a personal, relational being worthy of dignity? What we are attempting to explain away in one sentence, we are arguing for in the next.
Explanations need not always lead us to the conclusion that all is lost. But neither should our explanations lead us to conclusions that contradict our own accounts! Thankfully, in both cases, there are times in life where we find, like Job, that we have spoken out of turn and discover there may be more to the story. After sitting through the whirlwind of God’s 63 questions, Job exclaims: “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” (Job 42:3).
The invitation is before us. “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3). God’s presence can be overlooked, but it cannot be explained away; the effort is as futile as the attempt to explain away the miracle of light.
Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) See John 1:5.
In today’s Slice, Jill Carattini brought something to my heart to ponder… she notes,
“[...]Yet if the universe has always been a disordered series of time plus matter plus chance, how do we account for the intricate orderedness to life, the uniformity of nature, or even the intricacy of the very mind that asks the question? [....]
Scribbled on a note card, a quote by Frederick Buechner marks the page of one of my favorite Scriptures: “We learn to praise God,” it reads, “not by paying compliments, but by paying attention.” In fact, much of Scripture is a call to remember and take notice, to bear in mind the stories of God in history and to fix one’s eyes on God’s presence in the world today.”
Jill concluded with describing,
“The verse I have marked with a reminder to pay attention was written by one who did just that: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? [...] Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:3-9). David lived with an eye on the kingdom of God around him, and as such, throughout his days, he remembered there is a king. “O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
This stirs my heart… and serves as a reminder to stay present.
Did you know? Have you ever actually seen a real miracle? I know out of all the things, this seems like the least of these, but our kitten Torpedo… he is a miracle with fur. He is a miracle that purrs.. he is a miracle that demonstrates the gift of love, and the power of love, and the true power that using your God given gifts can and does heal others. The vet who called us on the weekend and offered her time and abilities and care… giving us her heart’s true care and love, brought us healing in every way. She literally brought our hearts a hope that we can touch in this precious kitten. He’s all well… he has no burdened breath, he has an amazing appetite for a creature that is so small, and he has a personality that gives us such joy to witness and interact with.
I cannot explain the several different levels of patience and trust we labored to walk through, as we not only tried to keep a hope alive that something magical was possible, but that we waited in a level of faith that showed us it was ok to hope, and indeed, vital to hope and pray and to be patient with God because His love is beyond the measure of this time and space continuum.
I know people have prayed for miracles and seemingly not recieved them… I myself have been in this position… to pray for healing of someone who is battling to live and survive over cancer that is invading their body. I can’t explain why I would be given so much grace and love as to have this little kitten be healed by the outstretched love of a person who only had themselves to give. But that’s what happend, and I dare only realize that it was a gift, both for my innermost heart, as well as for the hearts of my children who dared to hope. Just as the kitten struggled to breath on the edge of life, we were given the opportunity to demonstrate our hope one breath after another.
Jill Carattini wrote beautifully in today’s Slice of Infinity, ”There is something about suffering and despair that brings us to strain our ears for the voice of God. Where we have written God off as silent, where we have lived with the suspicion of a distant or demanding ruler, there is a compulsion within our pain that forces us to listen. There is an image of Christ who carried the same burden. And it is met with the promise of one who speaks: This sickness will not end in death.”
The vet said that she did not think the kitten would have made it throught the weekend if no action was taken…. I know, I know, this all sounds so simple, it’s just a kitten afterall. To some he may be just that, a 4 1/2 week old kitten who got the medical care he needed and therefore he survived. But to me, to my heart, he is a miracle and a testament to the power of love and sharing our gifts and to the goodness of a God who hears and nothing is too small for Him to touch. Love comes in every color and flavor out there, I believe it has no bounds as to who it can effect and who it can heal. There is no one who cannot give it, and although some have a hard time recieving it, it still touches them just like water touches soil when it rains.
A reminder to myself:
Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. ~ Romans 12:12
I still have yet to fully understand God in His mysteries, but today I have a miracle with fur that makes my heart have a deeper knowledge of all things beautiful that just a few days ago I struggled to find the hope to see.
Remember this Monica…
“There are some words that require our laboring over them, some truths that are too weighty to be tossed lightly into the laps of friend or enemy.” Jill Carattini, in RIZM writing “Speechless”
I don’t quite know how to fully articulate this, but there are some things floating around my head that I want to journal out. This is not profound, nor is it complete, it is mearly a glimpse into a train of thought that is atop my mind.
Recently the kids and I saw Horton Hears a Who, about an elephant in the jungle, named Horton, who heard voices coming from a speck as it floated by. He caught the tiny speck on a fuzzy looking clover and he listened, heard, and believed that there indeed was life on this speck, populated by Whos. Horton realized that the safety of the life on this speck rested solely on him, and he was determined to place it securely on the top of Mount Nool. But during his trek and journey, he was faced with great odds and opponents. In the jungle, a mother kangaroo character was set against Horton from the start. She urged Horton that it was all in his mind, on the basis of this logic, “if you can’t see it, if you can’t hear it, or if you can’t feel it, then it’s not real.” This kangaroo character goes so far as to get others to do her dirty work for her, finding a soulless old eagle to fit the bill and try to please her by managing get the fuzzy clover. The eagle is partially successful, but Horton never gives up. He tirelessly keeps his mission in mind, he stays focused on the task at hand, and he continues with his purpose of getting the Whos to safety.
The story concludes with Horton finding himself rejected by several of the animals in his community because he won’t denounce what he hears and give over the clover with the speck on it to be destroyed. The community of the jungle gang up on him (minus a trusty believing few), and they outnumber him and literally force him into a cage where he is powerless. At the last moment, the Whos make enough sound (and the Whos here… what’s happening in their world is a whole other storyline!) to be heard by someone else in the jungle… the kangaroo’s little boy who lives in her pouch. He hears the Whos, and tells everyone to quiet down, and then everyone in the jungle group hears the Whos chanting in unison “We are here, we are here, we are here!”
You cannot believe how I watched this movie drama unfold from this special and sometimes fragile place in my heart, for Horton heard the Who, and despite the fact that he couldn’t see the people on the tiny speck, or feel the people on the tiny speck… he knew what he heard, and what he continued to hear, and he just believed. He didn’t change his mind when things got difficult, he did not ask for the Whos to prove that they were real, he just believed what he heard. I was filled with joy when Horton pursued what he set out to do… his mission, and in the end rescue these precious lives.
Today… there was an awesome Slice of Infinity (to follow below). Very stirring picture she revealed… it certainly does turn my heart reflection in both directions, in and out. Many times I have paused on Jesus’ disciple Thomas and identified with him… my faith (or lack of) in certain seasons has literally prompted me to ask Jesus for a tangible feel of His hands to see if I could indeed touch holes that are noted to be there. I’ve spent many prayerful nights with the desire to be heeded and encouraged by Jesus to be faithless no longer, just as He shepherded Thomas.
Today’s Slice of Infinity spoke so much today. It explained in a way that sometimes we need to sink, in order to realize there is nothing we can do than be saved by the grip and grace of Jesus.
Betsy Childs writes “A Twofold Hope”:
I have two contrasting pictures in my mind of what it means to live the Christian life. One is a picture of victory, of empowerment, of unwavering faith. The other is a picture of forgiveness and grace that is undeserved, of acceptance even in the face of failure. I have lived both pictures. I know that it is possible to truly walk by faith, to stand in unwavering conviction that God will keep his promises. I also know that far too often my faith fails and I sink into doubt and anxiety.
Both of these pictures come together in one scene in Matthew 14. Jesus’ disciples are in a boat on the sea, sailing against the wind, when he comes to them by walking on the water. Jesus gives Peter the permission and power to walk out on the sea to meet him. But in the midst of the miracle, Peter gets distracted by the wind; as he becomes afraid he starts to sink. Jesus stands strong, holding on to Peter and pulling him back into the boat.
In just a few short minutes, Peter manifests great faith and debilitating doubt. Both serve as opportunities for Jesus to reveal something about himself. As he enabled Peter to walk on the water, Peter knew the awesome power of God as he had never known it. But in being rescued by Jesus, Peter understood the tender compassion of God even for those of little faith. Michael Card comments, “I think that the point is that Peter needed to sink. If he’d walked to Jesus, I’m sure he would have been very self-congratulatory. He needed to sink, just like you and I need to sink.” (1)
In Peter’s victory and in his rescue, the glory belonged to Christ. Peter didn’t save himself by grabbing hold of Jesus; Jesus held a firm grasp on Peter. It is a manifestation of God’s work in us when we are able to stand strong, and it is God’s grip that keeps us when we lose our focus and our footing. Songwriter Rich Mullins expressed this twin hope:
If I stand, let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
If I can’t, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to you.
When you experience a season of victory and fruitfulness in your Christian walk, do not forget that we are entirely dependent on the strength that God provides. We must not become so enamored with walking on water that we take our eyes off of Jesus. And in those times when you do take yours eyes off of him, and you feel yourself sinking, do not give up hope. All is not lost. When we fall into God’s grace, we remember that Christ is both the Author and Finisher of our faith, and we will never cease to need him.
Today’s Slice of Infinity was a good read:
Fix Your Gaze by Betsy Childs
Do you remember when you were learning to drive? In order to be a good driver, one must forego the luxury of gazing at the passing scenery. I remember my father explaining to me that a car tends to drift in the direction that the driver is looking. If I looked off the road to my right, I might very well drive off the road. I had to train myself to watch the centerline in order for my gaze not to be diverted.
It often seems as if the narrow road that we are traveling is flanked by gorges on both sides. There are many extremes that we seek to avoid, but finding the proper center in the Christian life is easier said than done. When we find ourselves drifting into legalism, we often overcompensate and swerve into license; we may despise the materialism or hedonism of the world only to end up as self-righteous ascetics. We don’t want to be too busy, and we don’t want to be lazy. What’s a person to do?
Some choose a dangerous oscillation between extremes, crashing into guardrails and causing a lot of damage in the process. God has given us certain commands and institutions that break our speed and prevent us from hurtling off the narrow path. But bouncing between guardrails is not the wisest way to steer. The common-sense answer is to stay as close to the center as possible by fixing your gaze there. We find this principle in the book of Proverbs:
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.
Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.
Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:25-27)
Once you realize that the way of wisdom involves fixing your eyes on the right thing, you must then wonder what you are supposed to look at. Should we look to others and follow them? Are we supposed to look inside ourselves? Should we trust or dismiss our sense of direction? None of these options is a very compelling solution.
Fortunately, the book of Hebrews presents another way. The author writes, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 2:2). The only infallible guide down the narrow path is Jesus Christ. It is only when our eyes are on him that our lives are in proper balance. The Christian life is a Cross-centered life. But Jesus is not a principle; he’s a person. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but the narrow path twists and turns. He’s a moving target, and you can only follow him if you fix your gaze on him.
I get this daily email called “Slice of Infinity,” and today’s was a timely read for me, called the The Road to Expectation, written by Jill Carattini, who amazes me… she writes:
<em>”There are certain hopes in each of our lives that shape our worldview, orient our feet, and provide that sense of coherence for life’s most plaguing questions. But if we come to a place where that hope seems to let us down, it may have been a hope that was not intended to hold such authority. Or, the hope is worthy but our expectations have taken precedence. In any case, reality must be our goal and truth our path, for the lure of expectation and predisposition is profound.
The disciples’ passionate hope in Christ was visibly deflated because they allowed their expectations to act as thorns. They did not expect the one who would deliver Israel to fall in any way. Not only was Jesus betrayed and sentenced to suffer at the hands of men, he was crucifieda death reserved for criminalsa death which symbolized the curse of God. And while they believed in Christ’s work and word, they believed that death had the final word. How often I have reacted similarly, finding the law of nature, the law of returns, the law of unintended consequences more authoritative than the laws of God.
The disciples’ expectations so ordered their sense of reality, that they were blinded from the reality of Christ in their midst even as they philosophized together. Their hope in Christ was accurate; it was their expectation of that hope that blurred their vision and left them in the murky waters of an incoherent mess.
Even today many travel along countless roads of life, discussing hope and disappointment, points of insight and confusion. When the disciples reached their destination, they sat down with their fellow traveler and broke bread together. And Luke reports, at that moment, their eyes were opened and they recognized the one among them.
Perhaps one day we, too, will ask as the disciples did that day, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road?” (Luke 24:32). Hope in Christ is recognizing the reality of his presence even when we may least expect him.”
Today’s Slice of Infinity was titled “Things To Do” by Jill Carattini. I’m always jaw dropped to read when someone spells out in such a way what my heart loves to hear, as well as what it sadly needs to be reminded of. She writes:
“In prayer, as in conversation with friends, we unearth with words things about ourselves and the One to whom we speak. Each trouble on our heart, each person on our mind is known and remembered by God. Before Him, along with each task or dream on our lists, we are laid bare. To approach God in prayer with the knowledge that He hears is a gift continually ours.”
I love how prayer moves as I do… my conversations with God flow through layers of thoughts, motives, feelings, fears, insights, etc…. and through the changing seasons of my individual days. What I love most, is that when I awake in the middle of the night, for seemingly no appearant reason, the first thing I do is immediatly run to my Father in prayer, seeking His presense in the moment, just to say hi or to tell Him thank you… some nights I am kept awake with longer conversations with Him… but I always feel like it’s either me or it’s Him, waking me up to just talk more to Him.
Monday’s “Slice of Infinity” was beautiful.Betsy Childs with RZIM wrote “Canyons of the Spirit” and I’m excerping a bit because it was so delicious. Note to self… reread this Monica… let it live in you.
There is more than one way for a canyon to be formed. They can be carved quickly by the rapid erosion of a rushing river or a melting glacier. Or, they can take years to form, hewn by the steady trickle of a stream running through limestone.
I believe that the formation of a canyon bears some resemblance to our spiritual formation. The Living Water coursing through our lives leaves its mark. Many people are changed rapidly and dramatically by watershed encounters with the Holy Spirit, either at conversion or at some point of spiritual renewal…
Just as the deepest canyon can be cut by a steady stream, so the Holy Spirit has left his mark on my life. Although I have no dramatic flood stories, I have changed slowly and steadily through the years since He first found me. Some of the prayers that I have prayed for years have been answered, not all at once with a crash, but with increasing volume like the rise of a beautiful song. He has not removed any of my fears instantaneously, but He is gently coaxing them from me one by one, like a mother lovingly taking away a child’s toys as she rocks him to sleep. Although I may not have come to my senses in one moment like the Prodigal Son, the Holy Spirit daily convicts me of new sins and grants me the repentance to turn from them over and over.
I have watched other believers slowly change and mature as the Spirit reworks the landscapes of their hearts. I have seen some put aside idols and learn to cherish the things of God. I have seen others who once lashed out in anger learn to hold their tongues and forgive. I have seen souls that were once bitter or defensive become humble and teachable, all by the patient artistry of God.
No one can encounter power of Living Water and come away unscathed. Sometimes, the most dramatic canyons take a lifetime to carve.
++please continue to remap me Lord with Your Living Water. clear away the obstructions that hinder the rushing of Your life over my spirit. flow and flood the landscape of my heart. saturate me.++
Today’s Slice… was titled Something Understood, by Jill Carattini, and I’m soo loving it.
“‘Meditation in a Toolshed,’ C.S. Lewis recalls standing in a darkened shed, the sun brilliantly shining outside, but only a sunbeam peering through a crack at the top of the door. Everything was pitch black except for that prominent beam of light, by which he could see flecks of dust floating about. Writes Lewis:
‘I was seeing the beam, not seeing things by it. Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my eyes. Instantly the whole previous picture vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no beam. Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny at the top of the door, green leaves moving in the branches of a tree outside and beyond that, 90 odd million miles away, the sun. Looking along the beam, and looking at the beam are very different experiences.’ “
… last paragraph of today’s Slice Jill writes: “The psalmist writes, “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” As we look to the evidences of God’s presence, may we increasingly find ourselves peering at God Himself, recognizing the One who recognizes us.”
yes indeed… smiles….
