emBODYing Candles...

8-8-06

I am at Riverstop Café with my third cup of Columbian“half caff.”

I found the picture that is posted below and began to think about candles. Candles start our looking pretty nice; clean edges, colorful, cool shapes. Candles have a purpose though that is concealed within them. They are able to emit light. When the lights go out in your house if you don’t have a flash light then you can use candles. Candles can also be used to create mood lighting for various occasions. The problem is that a candle changes shape when it does what it’s suppose to. A candle begins to round out in some places, drip onto other things, and shrink in size. The life of a candle ends when its purpose runs out. The wick that is placed within the candle must be lit and then it will serve its purpose until the wick is used up.

I liken this to our lives as humans. We start out with soft skin, no bruises, and different shapes and colors. As life goes on we become more banged up and appear less beautiful to our own eyes. I can only imagine a candle looking at itself as it was burning. If it did not realize its purpose then it would be like…”Aw look…that’s sagging now.” or “I can’t control this liquid running down me.” Sound anything like what we experience as we get older?

So we have this purpose…what if we never are never lit? Our bodies still wear away but it is like a candle on a grater. The wick is sliced shorter with every pass and our bodies will continue to wither away. If we are never lit then we will get to the end of our life without ever having served our purpose.

If we have a purpose placed within us then we must recognize it so that we are able to be intentional about our lives. We need to realize that we were created to be light in the darkness. We need to see that our light is not our own but we are given light and we are created to hold light. We are able to have the God of the universe light us up. As we recognize our purpose we will start to see the wearing of our bodies as evidence that we are doing what we were created to do. We will then see the beauty of what is happening.

Light in darkness

Press On...

Intrigued?!?!

7-18-06

Brian McLaren states that “clarity is sometimes overrated and that intrigue is correspondingly undervalued.” Ok… I’m intrigued.

What does he mean when he says this? I like clarity. I like to “see clearly the rain is gone.” I like to see the bottom of the pool when I swim so I know what I am swimming in. I like to see clearly as I drive down the road so I don’t run in to anything. Clarity is overrated…how do we rate clarity? I can see how we rate clarity pretty high on the scale. Ok, I agree that it has a high rating. What about intrigue being undervalued. I find that intrigue is used to draw us in. I am intrigued as to what he is meaning so I am drawn into the conversation. I want to know more about what he means. Intrigue is used to draw us in but then we abandon intrigue in the search for clarity. So we have a minimal use of intrigue and an intense desire for clarity.

What is clarity? Seeing something clearly, understanding, having something figured out. In our relationship with the LORD we want to see Him clearly, understand Him…figure Him out? Can we figure God out? Can we really see Him clearly in the state of decay that we are in? Our bodies are in a state of decay while our spirits are in a relationship with Him. Ok, back to intrigue, I am intrigued by Him. My intrigue draws me in. If I am constantly intrigued does that mean I will be constantly drawn in? Maybe we really do undervalue intrigue. If I was intrigued by the LORD more often wouldn’t that be the key to more clarity? I said that clarity is seeing Him clearly, understanding Him, trying to figure Him out. We want to have the clarity, but we overrate it. We see the value in the end, not the process. The process is what takes us to the end. We can not find the clarity we desire without being intrigued. Where does this intrigue come from? Can we make this intrigue come from ourselves? When I am intrigued by something it is that thing that intrigues me. I do intrigue that thing. God must intrigue us. The relationship begins with Him. The pursuit begins with Him.

I agree with Brian in that “clarity is sometimes overrated and that intrigue is correspondingly undervalued.” When we enter into the relationship with the One that brings clarity we will receive it…but the clarity is not the point…the point is the relationship.

Simply Be

7/3/06

Sumatra Mandheling…it is a complexity of flavors that ends in a smooth spice. I am enjoying my experience with this cup. I am at Bitter End, a coffee shop in Grand Rapids. I am sitting here with my buddy Elch. We enjoy coffee, reading, discussing life, listening to music, and staring into space. This brings peace. Peace…we are not anxious in these moments, we are in our own worlds at times and then come back together to discuss what we’ve seen and heard. Separate but together…

How can we be separate but together? How can we be thinking our own thoughts but still be on the same page? I feel the key here is to “be”. This word is so complex. Two letters come together and say so much…

To exist in actuality; have life or reality: I think, therefore I am.

1. To occupy a specified position: The food is on the table.
2. To remain in a certain state or situation undisturbed, untouched, or unmolested: Let the children be.
1. To take place; occur: The test was yesterday.
2. To go or come: Have you ever been to Italy? Have you been home recently?
3. Used as a copula in such senses as:
1. To equal in identity: “To be a Christian was to be a Roman” (James Bryce).
2. To have a specified significance: A is excellent, C is passing. Let n be the unknown quantity.
3. To belong to a specified class or group: The human being is a primate.
4. To have or show a specified quality or characteristic: She is witty. All humans are mortal.
5. To seem to consist or be made of: The yard is all snow. He is all bluff and no bite.
4. To belong; befall: Peace be unto you. Woe is me.

Do we exist in actuality? Do we have life? Do we go? Do we come? Do we belong?

I think that all of these questions can be answered yes in the sense that we must have do all of these things to still be alive in the physical.

Do we do these things in the spiritual? Exist, have life, go, come, belong… Are we alive in the Spiritual?

Are we being physical…yes, we do that without thinking.

Are we being spiritual?

When sin entered this world did we stop being physical or stop being spiritual? Who were we distanced from? How should we pursue One that we are distanced from?

We must SEEK God…we have probably heard about a hole that only God can fill…this hole may be our spiritual side that is longing to be completed again. W are physical and spiritual beings that long to have both parts satisfied. I am fully alive when I am BEING fully physical and BEING fully spiritual.

Just as two letters come together in a complex way, and two friends can be totally different in totally different worlds but BE together so should we BE…we should SIMPLY BE.

Beautiful. Thank you. I want to be with you.