tabula rasa
As I sit here at the keyboard and think about writing, I think about how my journal first appears or how this page appears before me now. Line by line, page by page, the spaces will be filled in, from empty to full. As I write, this "clean slate" becomes less and less empty, more and more full.
As a reader, you cannot see what I see. You see the result, the line upon line, page upon page, words creatively manipulated in space. Words do not fill up every space as space itself is used to differentiate between words. The space assists the communication process that you, dear reader, my ascertain what is on my mind, in my heart.
(Anticipating the philosophical repercussions . . .) In a sense, this is our life. There is a writer and there is a reader of life. Who is the writer? Particularly, I am the writer of this entry, but I am not the author of my life. I am merely the page, as a book does not write itself, nor does it read itself but bears witness of that which is written. The writer can be the reader, but what the author writes glorifies himself when others read what is written.
It is written that Jesus the author and perfector of faith (Heb. 12:2). I am to be the blank page before Him. As a book in progress, far be it from me to tell the author what to write. God wants to be God--I have no choice but to let Him.
What has He already written? "I will write my law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God and they shall be my people." (Jer. 31:34). What God has written glorifies Him--the law He was written on my heart is understood when the author Himself is understood.
We understand the Jesus the the Word, and the Bible is the Word. One is a revelation of who God is, what He is like. What is on His mind and heart? When God opened His mouth, Jesus came out. What God says, how He acts is recorded in scripture.
"Spaces": Written language depends on spaces between words--that words may be differentiated from others. OtherwiseIhavetoomuchfunwritingandyouhavetoomuchworkreading. The ancients wrote sans punctuation or spacing. Our style is more developed and eases the communication process.
What occurrs to me is this: we seek to be and should be filled with the Holy Spirit. The reason is for the Word Himself to live through us and in us. This is why I say that it is alright to present ourselves to Him as a "Tabula Rasa".
Note the times of emptiness, void in life and how during those times we no longer feel full and energized and "in touch with God." This is a time of "spacing." I cannot support this from scripture, but what makes sense to me is that when I am empty, I am to learn what He communicates to me about Himself that I have not understood before.
Spacing does not mean the communication process has stopped; rather, it should mean that one word, paragraph, line, page of our life is completed and He is working on the next. As a blank page we should remain open and receptive for the next pen or key-stroke be it here
or here
or (space) here
(space)
or (space) (space) here
Spacing indicates progression!
In the same way a paragraph is distinctive by its indentation or spacing. A new paragraph begins with exaggerated spacing. This sets the paragraph apart from others, building on the context of the one before it.
Significant changes in life do not indicate our book is finished and a new started. The book is finished when the book is closed--only the author knows.
As the words fill a page, the Holy Spirit should fill us, leaving room for growth, differentiation, progression and transformation. From empty to full, according to the purposes and intentions of the author.
