Imagine ... that every single day we could have our fill of the finest food imaginable, overload on dessert and wash it all down with plenty of wine/beer/cola (delete as applicable). Would that make every day a feast?
No. I imagine that most of us would enjoy Day One to Day Seven. Anytime between Week Two and Week Four, each meal would start to fade into all the others. After a while, we'd barely be able to appreciate any of the luxuries we had. By Month Six, we'd probably be bored, sick or deceased! ...
Here's the principle: For any day to really be a feast, some days can't be a feast. There's a rhythm of life here ... Waiting and enjoying belong together as part of the same picture. If we never experience any delay or lack, our lives are poorer for it ... If we want for nothing, we end up missing what we need most...
Waiting builds our soul capacity. It enables us to carry tension. The problems of life and the ups and downs of human relationships will demand this of us.
That's why the God of the Bible is a waiting God. He knows the pain of patience. He carries the tension of hope for a broken world. He's a spurned lover, a tireless dreamer and a lovelorn parent. It's a costly path, but this is the price of relationship. History shows that he chose this rather than overwhelm us with his purity and justice. One of Peter's New Testament letters reads: "He's restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn't want anyone lost. He's giving everyone the time and space to change." [see 2 Peter 3:9] Because he loves, he waits.
-Consumer Detox: Less Stuff, More Life, by Revd. Mark Powley
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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