As it Really Is

              When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) 

 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5:14-15) 

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4) 

God does not speak only for us and our purposes, nor does he speak primarily for our own prosperity, safety or gratification. Those who receive the grace of God’s saving companionship in his word are by that very fact also fitted to show humankind how to life. They and they alone are at home in the universe as it actually is. (Willard, Dallas, Hearing God, pp 145-146) 

I keep coming back to the idea of living in the universe as it really is, and to my failure to do so. If I lived the way the universe really is, I would eat right, exercise enough, study Scripture more, pray without ceasing, rejoice always, and joyously and effectively share the gospel with everyone I meet.  Better yet, I would love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength, and all my mind, and love my neighbor as myself. I would never get weary of well-doing, and I would courageously let my light shine. I would glory in my sufferings with full confidence that they will produce perseverance, which will produce character, which will produce hope. I would be anxious for nothing.

What a great way to live! Unfortunately, I’m a weak coward who works harder than the person living in the previous paragraph would ever have to. I need to build high castle walls that protect me from the world out there, and from the frown of the One who sees me not living in the previous paragraph. What’s more, I have a lot of neighbors, all over the world, who are working just as hard at living in a universe as it really isn’t. They don’t take kindly to someone telling them they’re wrong. It all sounds like a wonderful idea for a novel.

I suspect we think the pain of living in the universe as it really may be less than the pain of living in the universe as it really isn’t. We’re right, but we are too afraid to change. The pain of the universe as we pretend it to be is familiar pain. We know how to deal with it.

I know about this. For years, I had grab the edge of my matress, roll onto my side and use my arm to push myself to a sitting position because my back hurt so much. One day, the word “chiropractor” wandered into my head. I’d never thought of the possibility of visiting one before that. I can get up in the morning like a normal person. But the idea of getting my soul, my feelings, my will, or my body “adjusted” – that’s another matter.

To come to terms with the universe as it really is, we need to come to terms with God as He really is. That’s my spiritual goal this winter.