Tag: eternal

The Firelight In Your Eyes

In the dark I can see,
reflected, weaving and waving,
in this blessed early morning moment,
the firelight in your eyes.

Your lips, full, pained, hurt,
whisper out an injured stream,
while I memorize your eyes,
and the mirrored flame of your soul.

And I am struck dumb,
feeble words wretch forth,
anguished to see you lifted and built up,
to fan the heart and the flicker still there.

Who am I,
that I should be the one here,
so lacking, failing even in this,
to blow these embers back to life.

But God–this is not of me–
but God–in spite of me–
He can take you in the hollow of His hands,
and blow your embers back to Life.

When we part ways,
the morning darkness hides us,
when I hold you again, once and again,
heat rushes into me, melting the cold of many moonless ages.

In the darkness, parting, again I look deep in your eyes,
and the warmth of your embrace rushes out from me,
but my prayer has ascended to Him Eternal, that I see you again,
and the firelight in your eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

Lives of Quiet Desperation

Henry-David-ThoreauMy father, on more than one occasion, has referenced this quotation in various discussions on purpose and meaning: “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation“. I’ve been thinking about that lately. So, I Googled the phrase this evening and came across this enlightening write up, entitled Quiet Desperation, on the words, the man behind them, and where those thoughts can lead, either for good or for ill. Here’s an excerpt to give you a taste,

One night very early on in a life, a young boy lay back on the rocky New England soil, contemplating the heavens,  “looking through the stars to see if I could see God behind them.” This quest became one of the primary motivators of his life — one might say he never stopped looking into nature for the ultimate truth.

But what did Henry David Thoreau mean by his famous observation, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them”?

You may have seen those Facebook/Twitter/Instagram memes, the ones that say something to the effect of “Everyone you meet is battling inner demons that you known nothing about.” It’s so true. As much as we want to be open and free with our feelings and emotions with friends and family there are some things too deep, too subtle, too sensitive, to speak openly about. I think of the late Robin Williams. A man of laughter but a man of surprising inner turmoil to the point of ultimate desperation. If you don’t have a friend you can talk to, know that you have a friend in Jesus.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:16,17

Soli Deo gloria

Eternal Vigilance and the Beer Store

As I heard the story, back in the day in my home town, there was no beer store. One day a group of people suggested one be built but it was shot down. Some time later, again, more people said it should be built but that was rejected. Some time later even more people said there should be a beer store but that, too, was rejected. Finally, one day, a majority of the people said there should be a beer store and, this time, they got it. Democracy in action? Maybe, but this is a parable and, as go all good parables, the application is much broader.

In a previous blog, I linked Michael Geist’s article on the copyright lobby coming back from the dead to pressure the government into more copyright reform and this after an ongoing national debate that has spanned the better part of the last decade if not more. The lobby never stops. The citizenry, equally, can never stop. We must raise our children and continue, ourselves, to know and understand the issues, and ceaselessly work to prevent the slippery slope that lobbies perpetrate in their own unceasing efforts to get what they want.

It’s not just about a beer store. It’s not just about copyright legislation. Instead, this blog is a reminder that our victories are only for the moment. They are not strategic on the way to a final decision. So we must continue to face up to the opposition time and again, knowing and understanding the issues, and being able to respond with sound, convicting reason.