Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts His people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones. Isaiah 49:13
“The distance between the aspirations and the physical realities of humanity can be the stuff of the ridiculous, the cynical, and the tragic but at the same time be filled with compassion, faithfulness, heroism, and creativity. In short, that distance is life as we know it.
Yet, as creatures go, we are different. We are made for higher things. Our aspirations hint of such a truth. The age-old distinction between the body—the physique—and the person—the soul, spirit, mind—is rooted in the contrast between the unconscious physical facts of our lives, which sometimes shock or shame us, and our “conscious” life, our experiences, interests, meanings, thoughts, intents, and values. And it is the nature of our conscious life that separates us from other creatures, putting an odd distance between our innermost being and the dust heap we also truly are.
When God made us He made creatures capable of astonishing presumption. We humans can almost forget that we are dust. Perhaps we must in some measure forget it in order to carry on. Yet, as we breathe and eat and sleep, we also think and aspire—and that is amazing. In that paradox, that puzzle in which the pieces do not truly fit together, we can either applaud ourselves for such a rare and amazing accomplishment or we can begin to understand that we are touched by powers beyond ourselves.”
Dallas Willard in The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (New York: Harper Collins, 1999) 46-47.
Two phrases struck me as we prepare to lead a Journey of Empowerment (JOE) today in El Salvador. “We are made for higher things” and “We are touched by powers beyond ourselves.”
The God of the heavens has compassion on us. So we get to make know this God to the world. This is only possible with His help. I will generously make Him known in El Salvador today. Will you do likewise where you are?
Don’t do it because the puzzle pieces of life fit together. Do it because they do not. Life is ridiculous, cynical, and tragic. It’s also, thanks to God’s generosity, filled with compassion, faithfulness, and much more.
We are made for higher things. We get to point others to God. Let God stretch you out of your comfort zone. Rely on the powers only He can provide outside yourself. You got this. God’s got you!