Me and Kayce at the “Y”
Kingdom Man: Made for More
I believe I can safely say that each time we play “Build Your Kingdom” by Rend Collective Experiment on our Calvary Chapel Blythewood praise team, I must burn about 100 calories. I don’t know how much our percussionist burns, but we may have a great weight loss program here in our praise music! One line in the song says, “You’ve made us for much more than this; awake the Kingdom seed in us.” This is where I would like to focus for a moment: we are made for more than we think; but, first consider this sign:
What is the right way to read? While much could be said here, just think for a moment about how you feel when you read? Do you feel anything? You should. Reading with sensitivity helps shed light on the meaning of text. Perhaps this is one reason some feel reading the Bible is difficult: they read without feeling. I find it difficult to read Psalm 8 without attention to feeling. This psalm is the epitome of awe. Ask me what “awe” means, and I will bring you here. Why? The reasons are manifold, but here is one:
Take yourself outside at night in a place with little or no light pollution and look up (and it’s difficult to look up at the night sky with your mouth closed). Survey all you see from the top of a high place (any mountain or building will do). Stand on the beach and note how far you see before your eyes gaze over the edge of the planet into space—try to imagine everything you don’t see under the water. It’s all quite amazing, when you try to wrap your brain around it all. Interestingly, this becomes the point: we (humans) are the crown of God’s creation. Words just don’t communicate what this means, hence we need the experience to understand it.
I’ll toss this in here: structurally, everything the Psalmist says in Psalm 8 filters down and away from this one point. If you were to draw a picture of the flow of thought in this psalm, you would get an hour-glass with the finest point being verses 4-5. Do you see yourself there? The crown of God’s creation?
Then the Psalmist says that man is created “a little lower than elohim” (that’s the Hebrew word for God). What is meant here is that man, the crown of God’s creation is (literally) “in need of God.” What becomes significant here is that man is said to be crowned with glory and majesty. How can this be if God says He shares His glory with no-one (Isaiah 42:8)? The answer to the question actually lies in Psalm 21. I don’t want to do your thinking for you, so permit to help you discover the answer: What is the crown of gold God sets on the head?
How does God make His glory known? What does He share with man that reveals His glory? This is important because while mankind is the crown of God’s creation, we are only His children by virtue of Creation. We need God as a spiritual Father, hence we need His salvation to receive the full blessing through restoration of relationship with Him. Only then can we be what God intends. We are made for so much more than we are and we will never be more until we find life in salvation and are crowned with glory that honors Him!
What is the right way to read? While much could be said here, just think for a moment about how you feel when you read? Do you feel anything? You should. Reading with sensitivity helps shed light on the meaning of text. Perhaps this is one reason some feel reading the Bible is difficult: they read without feeling. I find it difficult to read Psalm 8 without attention to feeling. This psalm is the epitome of awe. Ask me what “awe” means, and I will bring you here. Why? The reasons are manifold, but here is one:
Take yourself outside at night in a place with little or no light pollution and look up (and it’s difficult to look up at the night sky with your mouth closed). Survey all you see from the top of a high place (any mountain or building will do). Stand on the beach and note how far you see before your eyes gaze over the edge of the planet into space—try to imagine everything you don’t see under the water. It’s all quite amazing, when you try to wrap your brain around it all. Interestingly, this becomes the point: we (humans) are the crown of God’s creation. Words just don’t communicate what this means, hence we need the experience to understand it.
I’ll toss this in here: structurally, everything the Psalmist says in Psalm 8 filters down and away from this one point. If you were to draw a picture of the flow of thought in this psalm, you would get an hour-glass with the finest point being verses 4-5. Do you see yourself there? The crown of God’s creation?
Then the Psalmist says that man is created “a little lower than elohim” (that’s the Hebrew word for God). What is meant here is that man, the crown of God’s creation is (literally) “in need of God.” What becomes significant here is that man is said to be crowned with glory and majesty. How can this be if God says He shares His glory with no-one (Isaiah 42:8)? The answer to the question actually lies in Psalm 21. I don’t want to do your thinking for you, so permit to help you discover the answer: What is the crown of gold God sets on the head?
How does God make His glory known? What does He share with man that reveals His glory? This is important because while mankind is the crown of God’s creation, we are only His children by virtue of Creation. We need God as a spiritual Father, hence we need His salvation to receive the full blessing through restoration of relationship with Him. Only then can we be what God intends. We are made for so much more than we are and we will never be more until we find life in salvation and are crowned with glory that honors Him!
Popular posts from this blog
I’ll Be Gnome For Christmas
“And so, about this tomb of mine . . . “
“VANITY, saith the preacher, vanity! Draw round my bed: is Anselm keeping back? Nephews—sons mine … ah God, I know not! Well— She, men would have to be your mother once, Old Gandolf envied me, so fair she was! What’s done is done, and she is dead beside, Dead long ago, and I am Bishop since, And as she died so must we die ourselves, And thence ye may perceive the world’s a dream. Life, how and what is it? As here I lie In this state-chamber, dying by degrees, Hours and long hours in the dead night, I ask “Do I live, am I dead?” Peace, peace seems all. Saint Praxed’s ever was the church for peace; And so, about this tomb of mine. I fought With tooth and nail to save my niche, ye know: —Old Gandolf cozened me, despite my care; Shrewd was that snatch from out the corner South He graced his carrion with, God curse the same! Yet still my niche is not so cramped...
"On Keeping A Notebook" by Joan Didion
I'm nearly finished reading Joan Didion's collection of essays, Slouching Towards Bethlehem. The book was discovered through another book I was reading, Jon Krakauer's Eiger Dreams . If Jon felt this book was good enough to pack along on a mountain climbing expedition, then I'm interested. Took me three tries, but I finally found my copy on Amazon. One of the best book buys I've made. Joan selected the title of this book from William Butler Yeats' classic poem, Second Coming . The book title is shared with one of her larger essays, a record of encounters with people in the 1960's drug culture. Didion's book is divided into three distinct parts: "Life Styles In The Golden Land," a collection of articles capturing the California experience of the 1960's; "Personals," a few of essays of the first-hand nature; and "Seven Places Of The Mind", some thoughts about those parts of California that are now long gone. One essay...