Chazown

When we read Proverbs 29:18 or hear a teaching or message on its content, we generally get a correct exegesis of the text.  A divine revelation or a revealing of something that can only come from or through God is what we would settle upon as proper meaning and interpretation.  Thus spurring us on to seek God, to pursue His ways, and thereby not run amuck or fall into fleshly chaos.  With that view I certainly agree.

But let me challenge you to go from the sublime to the almost ridiculous in concept.  From a non-biblical definition, the first and most often used meaning of the word vision is simply this: eyesight – the ability to see.  What if each of us began to understand that God wants us to “see” something or at least have the ability to “see” when the opportunity arises?

Here’s the cool yet tricky part of vision or seeing.  As we look or see ahead, we usually have nothing but a horizon line to focus upon.  Granted our surroundings and objects can and often do distract or obstruct the horizon line of our future, but nonetheless, if we keep walking and focusing our vision on the horizon line, our vision does not change, but the horizon line is ever changing.

Here is where we tend to fall short in the pursuit of His divine vision.  We do so by a misinterpretation of the ever changing horizon line – falsely believing a lie that tells us the vision has changed; when in fact it has not.  The only thing that has changed and will ALWAYS change if we are moving in a forward direction with God is the horizon line of circumstances, but the Vision never changes.  It is ever focused on His revelation and voice that propels us forward through the changing landscape of an ever changing horizon line, all couched in providence and promise of His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Fear not my friends, we are not blind, nor has our vision dimmed.  But only the changing landscape as we move forward!  Let us celebrate the journey towards the ever changing horizon line.  Amen?

The Fragrance of an Emoticon

I never knew what that term meant until a few years ago.  Let me cite reference from Wikipedia:  “A smiley-face emoticon.  An emoticon is a meta-communicative pictorial representation of a facial expression which in the absence of the prosody serves to draw a receiver's attention to the tenor or temper of a sender's nominal verbal communication, changing and improving its interpretation.  It expresses - usually by means of punctuation marks - a person's feelings or mood and can include numbers and letters, as well.”

What if we never lived our lives with expression?  What if we never conjured up the idea of emoticons?  What if we were robots?  What if we had no muscular continuity connected to our souls?  My God we’d be wood.  That is not good!

As for me, I love the use of emoticons, but more than that, I love a real face with a real beautiful smile and twinkling eyes.  Yes sir, I’m all in for emoticons when it comes to writing and cyber expressions, but when it comes to flesh and blood and Imago Dei, nothing beats the real flesh and blood pathos of expressions from the human face.  Note it.  Take it.  Love it.  Leave it.  But it’s real.

Somewhere in the light of Over the Top ice cream and Holy Spirit denial, one can be lost in the power of a living emoticon.  Maybe I’m nuts, but I’d rather have the tender curve of a supple cheek, versus the digital structure of an unflinching emoticon.  Call me pathetically human.

You can’t smell an emoticon.  You can’t touch an emoticon.  You can’t hear an emoticon.  You can’t believe in an emoticon.  Thank God for the real Imago Dei found in the pulse of the human heart.

A soft cheek in the moon light is far better than a “winky face” on a digital page.  May the God of all emotion, love and humanity grant you more grace than any emoticon could ever deliver.

Sigh