as i look ahead to my sermon this week, i am meditating (much like chewing, quite active, really) on what paul means when he says in 1 corinthians 13 that we see only in part now, as through a glass darkly.
i remember when i was young, probably about 5th grade, and i really needed glasses, but i didn't know that yet. i just thought the world was blurry until you got right up to it.
once i got glasses, i realized how much i hadn't been seeing all along, and how clearly. but i didn't know that then.
or how about the example of children...our son jack doesn't know, well, jack. i mean, he knows what he wants sometimes, and what seems pleasurable and comfortable. but he doesn't know what is best for him. he doesn't know what happens when he goes to bed at night. he knows that the oven is hot, but he doesn't even know that we turn it on and off. his knowledge, his sense of what is real, is extremely limited.
in 'the great divorce' c.s. lewis writes about heaven in a fictional and imaginative way. when the people arrive, they are like ghosts compared to the realness of the grass and the dew, which cause them great pain to even touch. lewis is saying that there is a reality beyond our own.
i have always thought about that and loved it. i mean, what if all the good and beauty in the world is only a tiny drop on the tongue compared to what is really good and beautiful but beyond our senses and our understanding? what if there are colors we can't see? in fact, what if our visual spectrum is about 1/1,000,000 of the REAL colors of life? what if there are tastes and smells we haven't imagined? what if there is music and rhythm and notes and scales and tones we haven't even scraped the surface of? what if...
these are the questions that flood my mind when i think of paul's words, that we see as through a glass darkly.
i'm curious: what do you think?
greg.
i remember when i was young, probably about 5th grade, and i really needed glasses, but i didn't know that yet. i just thought the world was blurry until you got right up to it.
once i got glasses, i realized how much i hadn't been seeing all along, and how clearly. but i didn't know that then.or how about the example of children...our son jack doesn't know, well, jack. i mean, he knows what he wants sometimes, and what seems pleasurable and comfortable. but he doesn't know what is best for him. he doesn't know what happens when he goes to bed at night. he knows that the oven is hot, but he doesn't even know that we turn it on and off. his knowledge, his sense of what is real, is extremely limited.
in 'the great divorce' c.s. lewis writes about heaven in a fictional and imaginative way. when the people arrive, they are like ghosts compared to the realness of the grass and the dew, which cause them great pain to even touch. lewis is saying that there is a reality beyond our own.
i have always thought about that and loved it. i mean, what if all the good and beauty in the world is only a tiny drop on the tongue compared to what is really good and beautiful but beyond our senses and our understanding? what if there are colors we can't see? in fact, what if our visual spectrum is about 1/1,000,000 of the REAL colors of life? what if there are tastes and smells we haven't imagined? what if there is music and rhythm and notes and scales and tones we haven't even scraped the surface of? what if...
these are the questions that flood my mind when i think of paul's words, that we see as through a glass darkly.
i'm curious: what do you think?
greg.
Comments
i am certain that there is a whole realm of spectacularities that i can't even begin to imagine imagining. quite honestly, i'll be disappointed if there is not. i like surprises.
i like the new look, greg. Does this come b/c of a new Steelers era or were you just feeling inspired to change things up a bit?
no time to chew on what you wrote about tonight, though. I'll sleep on it.
Got your e-mail. You officially represent the first blog I have ever visited. Unfortunately one of the first things I see are references to the Steelers and Yankees. You poor thing. They stink...
Great to hear from you - I am curious with the new Steelers coach. How about the Raiders hiring a 31 year old coach? Maybe I should get my resume ready???
Take care my friend,
M Lee
awesome.
greg.
the new look is just that i was getting tired of the old one and felt that this needed an overhaul. and so we sometimes need new starts...
greg.
welcome, man! glad you made it over to your first blog. its just me rambling, really, but sometimes i think it can be a place to get you thinking or get your spirit moving. at least i hope it is.
and, it is a place for me to continually reference the superiority of the two greatest franchises in professional sports, the pittsburgh steelers and the new york yankees. if you want to try to argue for the bills and the indians, please do. i think the other readers would find it quite entertaining!
seriously, though. glad you stopped by. come back often. and get that resume ready, i hear the cowboys are interested...
greg.