For many years, my highest expression of personal spirituality was serving others sacrificially. Then, for many years, it was chasing God. At times, these two expressions overlapped, and people around me were impressed with my faith. The idea of being a God chaser was appealing to me and the constant longing and seeking made sense to me. But it was, if the truth be told, a pretty miserable existence. Those closest to me throughout those years can definitely vouch for the fact that my favorite topics of conversation were, how to know God better, how to love Him more completely, how to reach people with His love, how to obey Him perfectly. The outreach part was the easiest part. Talking to strangers about the most private and powerful truths of my life has never been difficult for me, and even less so, once I knew God was a real person....and understood that Hell is real. My friendships were founded on those topics; we would spend hours talking about these things. Hours turned into years and our lives slipped by while we struggled along, doing out best to serve God from the religious paradigms taught to us by well meaning pastors and spiritual leaders. Compromise and defeat dogged our steps and each new day was just another long exercise in frustration and God chasing, all while trying to carve out our own little pieces of the American Dream. A few years ago, when God unexpectedly interrupted my religious striving, it occurred to me that I had finally lost my mind completely. In fact, if it were not for His weighty glory resting so heavily upon me, I might have dismissed the whole encounter as the inevitable punctuation on a year long drunk. The things He told me that day are the fabric of the truth tapestry I weave everyday here on facebook; each thread, if one were to follow them, leads to His heart. I read a quote somewhere that pointed out how the front of a tapestry is beautiful to behold; we see what the artist wants us to see. But if we turn a tapestry over and look at the back, we find a tangled mess of hanging threads. It becomes very difficult to imagine the intricate beauty of the tapestry when looking at the work that has gone into it. There is no doubt in my mind that many never see more than that tangled mess of threads in my writings. Most never see past the work of this thing called ministry...but some of you do. A small handful are able to walk around to the front of the tapestry and take a long, hard look. You are able to see what I see and its not because Ive succeeded at the thing; its because you are looking so intently. You purposefully look past the mess of threads and enjoy the beauty of the truth Ive clumsily hidden here. I am so thankful for you. More thankful than I have words for...and thats enough tangled threads for one night, anyways. Good night & grace to you, ~RCT
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 05:17:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015