Eye Contact with God

May the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

This is from the blessing God commanded Aaron to pronounce upon the people of Israel (Numbers 6:24-26). God wants to bless his people. He shines his face upon us.

Sadly, most of us miss it most of the time. The psalmist speaks of "seeking God's face" (Psalm 27:8). He acknowledges that he needs to tune in to the gaze of God.

If God is looking at me, then I can look at him in return. 

Sometimes eye contact, in human interactions, can be embarrassing or awkward. To look deeply into someone's eyes allows you to get a glimpse into his or her soul. Most often we look away from a person who stares at us. We don't want to be known.

When lovers look into each other's eyes, it brings such a deep connection of knowing. It is a profound expression of love. It fuses vulnerability with joy.

Making eye contact with God is more difficult than I imagined. When I try to return his loving gaze, I am easily distracted. I turn my spirit's gaze away from him. I'm not sure why. Only with effort can I keep my gaze on him, and thereby receive the warmth of his face shining on me.

The radiance of his eyes soothes me, calms me, reassures me, transforms me. I receive his love. He makes me new. He makes me more like himself.

More than a Sound

In John's Gospel we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."  He identifies this Word as Jesus.

Before words were written, all words were spoken.  Words can also be thought, but, I would argue, genuine words must be spoken.  Words represent ideas, which, of course, are thoughts.  Words then are the oral representation of ideas.

Words are distinct from mere sounds.  Words are organized sounds, sounds with ideas attached to them.  Words are complex and somewhat mysterious.  Even the simplest words call forth deep meaning.

So in the beginning, there was more than mere sound.  In the beginning was the Word, something (or someone) deep and meaningful.  There is purpose to this creation, because God spoke it into existence.  This universe is mysterious, purposeful, safe, and dangerous.

There is depth to this existence, and God gives us life with which to explore it.

Undue Diligience

I remember when food products had no expiration dates.  We could tell when food was bad, so we didn't eat it.  Actually I don't really remember finding any bad food.  Apparently my parents took care of it. 

Now everything has expiration dates, and it appears that (my) children consider examining expiration dates to be part of their due diligence before ingesting anything.  Never mind common sense or the sense of smell.  Let's look at that date.

(By the way, I have seen salad dressing on the grocery shelf with an expiration date less than a month in the future.  Who uses a whole bottle of dressing in a month?  No wonder they are all expired in your fridge.)

Maybe kids could trust their parents or their senses in evaluating food.

But think of the due diligence we exercise with our Heavenly Father.  Yes, I know that you said to forgive, but I want to consider what that will really mean.  Yes, I know that I should tithe, but how can I live on 90%?  Yes, I know that you promise to meet my needs, but I'm just a worrier. 

We diligently examine God's directions, wondering if he really is looking out for us.  We wonder if we can trust him.  So we check behind God to make sure that we can go along with his Word. 

Maybe he laughs at me and rolls his eyes like I do with my kids.

Crystallized Peace

It began to snow at my house about 1 p.m. today.  They say we may get over 8 inches.

Now I sit in my house, reading, writing, watching, praying.  Through every window, I watch powdered peace falling.  I am privileged beyond measure.  I have had today's meetings, fetched the last necessities, and now I sit in peace.

God chose to make precipitation beautiful.  Thanks be to God.  When these rare snows arrive, life's busyness comes to a halt.  No one expects anyone to go anywhere or do anything.

We can take a deep breath and just be.  We have permission to be still.  We have time to listen.  We remember that there are things--however few--over which we have absolutely no control.  Through nature, God puts us in our place.

Be still and know that he is God.

Puzzled

Running this morning, I happened to look down and see a lone jigsaw puzzle piece in the street.  Pondering its possible origins, I saw another one about 15 feet later.  These loose, displaced pieces apparently belong to the same big picture, but they were solo on the asphalt. 

Alone, those pieces are just trash to be swept up.  But put together with other pieces, they make some kind of picture.  The pieces have to come together to get the full picture.

We are all like puzzle pieces.  Some of are solo on the asphalt.  Some are beginning to connect with others.  We are all part of a big picture, God's picture. 

Unlike jigsaw puzzle pieces, we can find and pursue other connections.  We can connect intentionally with others, knowing that there is a big picture, a big story.  I wonder what part I have in God's picture, what role I have in his story.  As we come together in community, we can see how we fit together; we can see God's big, beautiful picture.

Finding the right pieces, those with whom I am made to connect, is not easy.  It takes years.  God has to bring us together.  Then God has to fit us together.  It's mysterious, scary, confusing, challenging, exciting, discouraging, and fun.  It is what life is all about.

I want to help those who are solo on the asphalt find their connections, with God and others.

As I find my part in the big picture, I want to be a piece that is on the edge.