Part II: Phrases and thoughts…(from God)

This might seem like just a continuation of my last post, but really it’s not. Those last ones (Phrases and thoughts that opened up my mind) I would call accidental—I was living my life and these ideas jumped out at me and stuck. This next set I would call interventional—at the risk of grandiosity, God was trying to tell me something. Some are profound, some whimsical, some sobering. Not surprisingly, many are from the Bible. All of them are meant to teach me. Am I listening?

• “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) Truly mind-blowing. Paul was talking to Athenians, so he clearly didn’t mean just christians. I tended to think of it as me down here and Him up there, and me hoping to do stuff that might please Him, but realizing I most often fell short. I can act against Him, but I can never act apart from Him, because He is always here.

• “All is vanity and striving after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14) A definition of living in this world without a spiritual center.

• “I gaze into the doorway of temptation’s angry flame/ And every time I pass that way I always hear my name/ Then onward in my journey I come to understand/ That every hair is numbered, like every grain of sand.” Bob Dylan in “Every Grain of Sand” on Shot of Love. This is so autobiographical (except I didn’t write it)—me drifting away, seeking after false idols, Him patiently pulling me back with His love.

• I Corinthians 13 – the love chapter. I know I was lost and I think I was stoned the first time I read it. Tears streamed down my face and I knew that was what I wanted.

• “…your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit…” ( I Corinthians 6:19) Okay, this one makes me squirm, whether I’m sitting in front of a plate of French fries or pouring a third glass of wine. But it is.

• “And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” From Eric Liddell the christian Olympian in Chariots of Fire. I have felt it when I hit a particularly good golf shot. I love Him being present in our daily lives. He experiences with us. It awes me that God can take pleasure in what I enjoy. I know there is a fine line that crosses over into selfish pleasure. Love is never selfish. That is our guideline.

• “The tongue is an unquenchable fire.” (James 3:6) Another squirmy one… It is easy to say unloving things, especially to the ones we love the most. And you can’t take them back—if you’re lucky, you can cover them up. I try to imprint this on my mind and shut up a lot.

• “Speak the truth in love.” (Ephesians 4:15) Ah, this is the hard one, the piece de resistance. One or the other, it’s possible; but both? This is the greatest balancing act between couples. One of you leans one way, one the other. The sides change all the time (though there are inclinations). See more of this at: “…the two shall become one…”

• “It is better to live alone in the desert than with a nagging woman.” (Proverbs 21:19) Haha! I must have used this one in the classroom a thousand times, especially on teenage girls who were fussing at me (and on some boys, too). I will never use it on my wife (again).

• “Lord, I believe; help me in my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Can you will faith? Kinda, but not on your own. You gotta have help.

• “…the two shall become one…” (Genesis 2:24) I finally get it. That is God’s plan for Karen and me. We can align ourselves with the plan, or stray from it, but the plan never changes. God is One. I want oneness.

• “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10) I use this one when I am putting. Be still is the best technical advice you can give, and the second part is emotionally liberating.

• “Even a fool appears to be wise if he remains silent.” (Proverbs 17:28) I think about this sometimes when I am writing…

• “He must increase and I must decrease.” (John 3:30) How breath-taking! That is the formula. This is not a command or an act of your will. This is a glorious promise.

• “Will I join the ocean blue, or run into a Savior true, and shake hands laughing? And walk through the night straight into the light, Holding the love I’ve known in my life, and no hard feelings.” The Avett Brothers, “No Hard Feelings” on True Sadness. My family knows that this is the song they play at my memorial. (I definitely want a memorial, not a funeral—they seem like so much more fun!) I love how he imagines face to Face. Sounds wonderful.

My son wants to know if all my posts are going to be so religious. On this one I probably got carried away. My son is very understanding.

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