Reflections in the Dark

I have spent the holiday break away from family, alone in a large house with no urgent tasks to be completed. All of these factors come together to create a deep and somewhat dark thinking mood, especially for one already predisposed to chapters of brooding. Not all darkness is bad, but when plunging into the depths of thought it can be easy to lose the way. So in a night of careful consideration and deliberation I penned these words to remind me of the story I belong to. Each time I readdress it, I see some nuance in a whole new light. There is nothing altered in the story, only my perception of it. It is simple and unchanging. That is why my hope is so firmly fixed upon it. 


Darkness was all that there was. No space, no time, no pain, no beauty. Void. Then He spoke. There was light and life and purpose. There was work to be done and songs to be sung. He made a son, He fashioned a daughter. He from earth and her from bone. They were His and His alone. Such delight, such beauty, such harmony and peace. 
     Then came the Deceiver with gall in his designs and asps under his tongue. "You will not die," was his emphatic statement. He adjured them for the sake of their greater good. O foolish ones! Led astray by errant words. Foolish one I am to follow your paths to the dead. If only, if only you would have seen there was no greater Good than the one you walked and talked with. Where was the Good when His children forsook Him? He was there. What depth of pain He must have felt. I only ever consider my own sad plight that started on that day. But for Him it was the beginning of the path to the cross. Despite the Deceiver's assurances, die they did. The first children of the Creator were the last to taste of the tree of life. On that day the disappointed Father had animals slain to cover his wayward children's shame. But promised them that through their offspring a redeemer would grow. 
     After many years the promised One came at last. Since man must die to satisfy His Highness' wrath, as a man He came. He said His kingdom was near, but they did not understand. Revolt they called out for. "Death to the oppressor!" But the real oppressor was Death himself and the Lamb King came to slay him. By His limitless power He vanquished the foe men thought was eternal by surrendering Himself to its vile game. 
     Having taken on the punishment of our sin, from the first to the last, His Father raised Him from the dead so that He might be the firstborn of everything. He appeared to many. Then He ascended on high. He is there now interceding for His flock. We await the return He has promised. He will come and restore, and much more than that, He will recreate. A new heaven and a new earth. A home for all the ages to come. A hearth for His faithful ones to warm their weary souls. We shall see our King in all His glory. Perfect fellowship with the Divine awaits all who believe and cry out to Him. Call to Him without delay. Let Him take the burden you cannot carry. 


In the dark of night, when you find yourself alone. Tell yourself this story to stay on the narrow road. 

Bow Your Head & Close Your Eyes

Bow your head and close your eyes. 

We're talking to God so be real quiet

Pray old gra'ma never dies

Lord, please bless our greedy diet

Bow your head and close your eyes

Be sure to ask for His traveling mercies

Eloquent enough to win a Pulitzer Prize

Go long, He doesn't listen to the one who hurries

Say God, Father, Lord, Jesus Christ

Because if you fail to keep readdressing

The One above will not be enticed

And we'll never get His precious blessing

Avoid bringing up the poor outcast

The Holy One doesn't need to be reminded

That compared to us their just outclassed

In their case we have already presided

Why, Oh Bride, is this the sad case

Of our prayers and public petitions

They need not be bordered in lace

Nor practiced with rote repetitions

Pour out your heart, let that be enough

Honest and simple and utterly sincere

Don't be worried if it comes out gruff

But take time to consider what you hold dear

Is it your neighbors or your enemies

That you get on your knees and plead for

Or do you not waste such charities 

And simply ask for more and more

The World is lost, and we're all broken

There's no time to waste before the throne

What important things have we left unspoken

Cry out to God, more than a tedious drone

Bow your head and close your eyes

Perhaps the problem is in the command

We look away from the world as it dies

And lock ourselves in our castle so grand