"Cryptology............."

“The genius of a composer is found in the notes of his music; but analyzing the notes will not reveal his genius. The poet’s greatness is contained in his words; yet the study of his words will not disclose his inspiration. God reveals Himself in creation; but scrutinize creation as minutely as you wish and you will not find God any more than you will find the soul through careful examination of your body.”… Lewis Thomas

It’s early Monday morning here, the final piece of a four-day weekend served by the school system as our Fall Break this year. Our visit to the Detention Center yesterday fell a bit “flat” for me, one of those where you wonders afterwards if anything said to the kids really connected; and then the evening service at church came to me in much the same manner, my own mood, no doubt, much to blame. Life, it seems to me, even in Christ, remains a journey wherein a man’s relationship with his Creator comes to him as a personal puzzle, his own humanity as much a part of the mystery as anything else. What we get in this, if my own experience means anything, is a stumble through the fog, the Bible given for our roadmap, the Holy Ghost an anchor-line connection affirming our faith; and quotes like the one shared above simply represent someone else’s search for truth. Here’s another one from a lesbian author with a Pentecostal heritage:

“Now that physics is proving the intelligence of the universe, what are we to do with the stupidity of mankind? I include myself. I know that the earth is not flat, by my feet are. I know that space is curved, but my brain has been condoned by habit to grow in a straight line. What I call light is my own blend of darkness. What I call a view is my trompe-l’oeil. I run after knowledge like a ferret down a ferret hole. My limitations, I call the boundaries of what I know; and I interpret the world by confusing other people’s psychology with my own.”…..Jeanette Winterson

Or how about this one:

”If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.”… Baba Ram Dass

That one makes me smile. This one makes me think:

"It is a strange and frightening discovery to find that the sacrificial life that Jesus is talking about is the giving up of our chains, to discover that what binds us is also what gives us comfort and a measure of feeling safe. Change, while it has promise, will take from us something we have found sweet. The image we have of ourselves may keep us from wholeness, but it has come very satisfying compensations. There are dividends in being known as the one for whom nothing ever works out. It is never easy to lose the paradise of one's innocence and to have to struggle with growing up and being held accountable for one's own life. There are all kinds of anxieties in having to leave the land one knows and be on one's way toward a strange land. No wonder Jesus comments so often on the people who look and look, but see nothing, and hear and hear, but do not understand. If we really saw, and really heard, we might turn to Him and become involved with a migrant people who may have no place to lay their heads when night comes."....

I turned seventy-two yesterday and have been following His tug on the other end for over four decades, His reality an assuredness secured via that initial encounter and never questioned since. The enigma of it all, however, His grace, His patience, my stagger, continues to entertain my existence, always taking me to the same place, be it indeed some secluded spot outdoors or just a quiet time occasional found in some corner of my home. Verification is internal, eternity spanned within at an oasis re-established through Calvary’s Cross……