Silver and Gold

What is it that we are searching for? What is that thing that will, we believe, enrich us? There is something, of that I am certain. It is the thing that will make a poor man rich; that can, when properly applied, save millions from desperate situations. It can put a spring in your step and make you feel fashionable. It can dress you up and fill you up. It is the foundation upon which so much of this world is built.

Lets face it, we don't want to admit it, but it is true. It is elusive and requires a lot of work to acquire. But once we have it, it grows. It works for you. What you have becomes exponentially greater. It spins the world on its axis and is involved in almost every human interaction. Its presence or absence is keenly felt - we can tell the haves from the have-nots. In this, the rich truly get richer and the poor, poorer.

When you have this thing, people covet it. They want to steal it from you. They want you to be poor, just as they are. They hate to see you have it, but they can't stand it if you just give it away. What is it, this thing that people can generate, share, give, steal, covet and work to destroy?

Silver and Gold.

The Silver of Hope and the Gold of Faith.

Obvious, wasn't it.

Bit over done on my part, but true none the less. Sorry for all the saccharine "feel-goodness," but there it is.

I could always use a donation, if you've some to share. And unlike money, the more you give the more you find you have.

To paraphrase a line from Lost: You've been so busy running from things that you don't see what you're running toward. I know I've not gotten the quote exactly as presented on the show, but this is close enough. I won't bore you with details if you don't watch the show, but I have to wonder if Desmond would have done the things he did if he knew he would end up on the island. I guess the question answers itself, since he did pay attention to what he was going toward later in the show and made a very difficult (for him) choice.

The larger, unanswerable, question is how many of us would stop running if we knew what we were headed for? The future is unknowable, but not "unguessable." The trouble, as I see it today, is that there are so many independent and dependant variables that it is really difficult to know where the path will lead. Do we simply stop running? Does that imply loss of forward motion? I don't think it does (imply loss of forward motion). If we stop running and deal with our problems, perhaps we can make greater forward progress. Sometimes, of course, it is prudent to run from some problems, lest the lion devour us. I have to ask myself if I am running from something, and if so, what.

"How did we get it so wrong?"

This was one of the questions the preacher asked last Sunday, Palm Sunday. He was discussing what the people had thought would be and how different the reality of Christ actually was.

"He came to bring relationship."

Another main point of the sermon.

"...they were one week from the curtain in the Temple being torn."

These statements, when taken together, made me think. Yes, obviously, I was thinking about the sermon and about Palm Sunday, but also about life in general. There are many times in my life when I have had to ask how I had gotten it so wrong. My current relationship is one. How could I have been going on blindly and not see the truth? I think we see what we want to see; we see what we hope to see. It is painful to admit that sometimes the true plan of God is so much different than anything we see or hope for. We go about our lives not knowing that tremendous events may be taking place and the culmination of those events may happen quite soon. The people certainly did not expect the Temple curtain to be torn and God's sacrifice to be made in a weeks time. They wanted a conquering hero - or so I have been taught. Christ came, He was a conquering hero, but not in the way he was expected. I want and expect a certain outcome from God - what if what He has planned is so radically different from my earthly ideas? Will I be able to meet His expectations? Will I be able to survive the implementation of His plan? Will I have the faith to believe that whatever He has planned is in my best interest? Will I have to spiritual strength to live whatever amount of time I have left without knowing the plan? I mean, what if the plan only culminates at my death or in Heaven? What if there is not an earthly solution? Do I have the faith? I admit, many times I am afraid I do not. The answer lies in the second sentence. If I have a strong relationship with God, with Jesus, then the faith and strength will be there. And that should be my focus. Pray I can maintain my focus.