Liberty and Obedience

"Liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience without liberty is slavery."

~ William Penn, quoted in Edwin Gaustad and Leigh Schmidt, The Religious History of America~

Pop vs. Soda

Ever been in a mini-argument about what to call a carbonated beverage? Ever noticed that the crazy term for it your friend uses seems directly linked to where he or she is from?

Well check out this link: The Pop Vs. Soda Map. Here's to all you CA soda drinkers!

Christian Dating Link

Oh, MY gosh. I can't believe this link is real. Ok, actually I can, but it still makes me feel like I either am going to be sick or laugh for days.

"Christians Learn the Art of Dating"

Apparently Christians increasingly are going to dating workshops these days to "improve their technique" by learning body language and Christian pick up lines. Ok, fine, some of these lines are funny (my favorite is "The name is Will. God's Will"). But seriously... am I really naïve, or is this just plain silly?!!

Two Meanderings

"Literal Translation"

חֶסֶד
Be it mercy
or lovingkindness
or longsuffering faithfulness
or dumping ice cold living water
into gaping whiny mouths wanting Egypt,
return to dust for heaven's honey bread?

Three letters etched in a people's soul,
Three letters capturing inexpressibility,
Three letters marking boundary
between howling winds of nothingness--
violent anti-everything,
expansive, but contained--
and rippling waves of prairie grass and a sky the size of Texas,
endless glittering ribbons caressing ocean's end,
the digits of pi,
the air at dusk, husky, golden--
solid ground fades and infinite beauty impossible expands
into a single chapter to Corinth
and a familiar radiant body.

ARH 7.17.08


"I, a Sinner"

Forgive it, Lord, that I should--no, do--
boast in my successes, petty and profound;
My personality, four capital letters
spelling out how I just am
(yeah, me and Gandhi!);
my intellect, best of friends,
barricade, companion, spectacles;
My weaknesses, or my gift for masking them--
faith in my weakness, idolatry!

The cross, the cross?
words fail.
boasting ceases.
silence.
weight.
my words must die.
Crucify!

ARH 7.2.07

Small Faithfulness

God hath been alwayes found true in his word, most faithfull in his promises. . . . If God promiseth that he will give his only Sonne, that whosoever beleeveth in him shall not perish, but have life everlasting: his Sonne Jesus Christ shal be borne into the world at the appointed time, and undergoe the weight of Gods [sic] wrath for redemption of beleevers. Shall God then faithfully performe all his promises in so great matters, and be unfaithfull in lesser matters: oh let no such base conceit of the Almightie enter into our minds, as to thinke that he that spared not his owne Sonne, to performe his promises to us, will be so unmindfull of us in so small a thing."
[Alexander Whitaker, "Good Newes from Virginia," in Keith J. Hardman, Issues in American Christianity: Primary Sources with Introductions (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 18-19. Emphasis added.]

The last sentence of this quote astounded me! Although if you asked me, I would never have said that I believe God is only faithful in or cares only about the "big things," the things that really matter (like salvation), the strength of Whitaker's assertion struck me as the exact opposite of my own assumption. I never thought about this angle, that if God is able to be faithful in "big things," how much easier (so to speak) it is for Him to be faithful in small things! Somehow, I am both significant and small in the kingdom of God -- and that comforts me greatly.

In the Light

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another..."

Some of you might be surprised that, in blatant defiance of all exegetical rules, I stopped in the middle of that verse (1 John 1:5-7). And yes, the words I left out, "and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" are extremely important words! But tonight, those words, "we have fellowship with one another," hit me squarely in the middle of the forehead. If I hadn't been reclining already, I just might have fallen over!

If we are walking in the light, we have fellowship with one another. The only way our relationships are going to work is if we are walking in the light. Yes, wise counsel is good; yes, it is important to "work" on friendships and other relationships, but the bottom line is that if I am not walking in the light (as HE is in the light - yikes!), I will not be able to relate well with others. Quite the challenge: letting the light expose my darknesses and draw me forward to purer relationships. True, holy fellowship only comes through that light -- in all its dreadful purity and deadly perception.