Do you remember the first time you caught a glimpse of the Eternal Kingdom? It didn't make sense, but it felt right. It wasn't the whole, but it felt like home. It stirred something inside that could barely be described in words, yet there were those that knew what you felt. We began searching for this Kingdom, never arriving, always seeing traces of where it has been. We began storing these experiences in our brain and we began to know.
Do you remember the first time you knew the answer? It could have been in Sunday School, at Camp, in biology class, or in Exploring The Christian Faith with Dr. Bob, you drew on your experiences and made the transition from learning to knowing. There was something about the the Eternal Kingdom that you knew as a definitive fact and you could share that with someone or a group of people. You used the experiences stored in your brain and there was fruit from your searching.
Do you remember the first time you felt complacent? The moment when you realized you had stopped searching for the Kingdom and became content with knowing about the few snapshots you had of it? How dirty and dark was the alley of your awaking sobriety when you realized you had slowly drank yourself into a delusion of thinking you had arrived home?
We have begun to draw from our experiences of how God speaks, how God moves, how God blesses, how God disciplines, how God loves, how God touches and then we think we know. Do I close my eyes a little bit more with each time I feel I have the answer? Is this how separations in the Church start? Is this the motivation of the beginning of denominations? Do we like surrounding ourselves with people who have seen the same small glimpse of an Eternal Kingdom that has walked this earth in its fullness one time before? Would I still see the glimpses of home as I walk through the doorway to my house?
Do I see the Eternal Kingdom through the lenses of what "I know" or through the created eyes of the One that Is? Are my eyes opening, are my eyes closing, or am I squinting enough to see what I want to see?
Every word reads like a retelling of Lewis' sermon, "The Weight of Glory." I'm sure you remember it- and how refreshing it is to be reminded that there is more than what we have. The Kingdom is not so small as our current perception of it is, and thank God!!! Derek Webb's new album is very much speaking the same message as you are, Zach. There is more- though we are crossing the threshold and are both there and still arriving- the home we know is sweet in itself and yet just a faint glimmer of the fullness awaiting us. I hope all of our eyes are still wide open taking in the newness of the Kingdom every day- raking in the new mercies with every morning- and yet still so grateful to have the previous sights beheld.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Zach :D