Weird Al has a talent for taking the popular and making it absurd(ly funny). My “talent” is for taking and seeing the other side of things. Consider Barlow Girl’s song “Never Alone”:
I waited for you today
But you didn’t show
No no no
I needed You today
So where did You go?
You told me to call
Said You’d be there
And though I haven’t seen You
Are You still there?
I cried out with no reply
And I can’t feel You by my side
I’ve been where she is, and it stinks, but I can’t help but wonder how many times that is God’s song to me. How many times does He call for me, and I don’t answer? How many times do I miss an opportunity He carefully crafted? How many times have I denied Him and not even realized it?
I wanna show up when He calls.
November 23 2005 | Jesus Stuff | No Comments »
My friend Adam often mentions that he has a curse of clarity upon him. I’m not sure if I share his blessing or have another entirely. Either the world is fuzzy when viewed with sufficient clarity, or I have the curse of ambiguity.
On the one hand, I have this deep-seated desire to know and do what is “right”. Most people are content to follow in the tire-tracks of other drivers on a snowy day; I want to drive where I know the lanes are. In a parking lot where the lines are mostly worn away, I would rather find a partial space marking and use that to estimate where I should park than park an appropriate distance from the nearest car. Good enough… isn’t; I want to be right.
On the other hand, I have a strong tendency to see both sides of everything. At work, that’s a good thing. A significant part of solving any problem is to identify the problem, and that’s my area of expertise. It also means that I am uncritical of other people. Unfortunately, I have a hard time ever letting something be complete or being satisfied with anything because it can always be better. I have to deliberately avoid the trap that James McMurtry’s Johnny fell into: “He opened up his eyes and he snapped out of the groove He saw both sides of everything and found he could not move.” (James McMurtry, Candyland)
I don’t know if this means I have an unwavering desire to pursue excellence, or if it just means I’m anal-retentive; I suppose the ambiguity is appropriate.
Jesus Says that we will know the truth, and that the truth will set us free (John 8:32). It is easy for me to allow differences in interpretation or understanding to drive a wedge between myself and others. I become confident (conceited?) my own understanding, and separate myself from those that “refuse to see the truth.”
Thankfully, “the truth” has nothing to do with what I know or understand. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). Knowing Him even sets me free from the tyranny of my own desire to understand and to be right, and turns that terrible master into an excellent servant. He has the answers, and He gives them to me when He knows I need them, but it is more important that He is the answer than that He has the answers.
In this season of intentional thanksgiving, I am particularly thankful for the experiences of the past few years that have taught me to be less confident of my own understanding, cling less tightly to my own ideas, and recognize that being right is impossible, but that by allowing the Holy Spirit to make me like Jesus, I get “right” as a fringe benefit.
November 23 2005 | Jesus Stuff | 1 Comment »