"I wonders" and "what ifs"
Wednesday, February 23, 2005 by niebuhrian
What if there was no purpose to it all? What would happen if we were to awake from the slumber that night brings and realize that there were no answers, no reasons, no divine mandates…
What if, suddenly, we were ripped out of our lives of meetings and deadlines and rituals and all we had left was each other? What would happen to us if the only “things” left in our lives were the people…
If you awoke one day and suddenly you realized that God just loves – absent of anything we do to prove our worth, absent of any ulterior motive on God’s part, absent of any deviously created divine plan for us – what would happen to us if we internalized this idea that God just loves us and them as well…
What if, in the blink of an eye, there was no more religion, only God, only creation, only each other? What would happen to the world if people were people and life was life, and good things and struggles and hopes and failures were laid bare for all to see…
I wonder if life would suddenly become too real. I wonder if we could handle the authenticity of our createdness and our sinfulness. I wonder if we could handle living together absent of purpose and power and hierarchies.
I wonder if I can eschew purpose for authenticity. I think purpose is overrated; it gets in the way of living faithfully; it creates conflict and kills relationships; it is a shallow attempt to manipulate God and justify our behaviors.
What if life just happens and we can’t explain why? What if children just get sick and die? What if alcoholics just get drunk and plow into innocent cars? What if God has nothing to do with it, and yet everything to do with it? What if it is our fault, not the devil’s, not “God calling an angel home”? What if we cut the crap, take responsibility for our screw-ups, and believe in a God that loves us because of WHO we are and not HOW we worship or work?
What if we were obedient to the life of Christ and not the words in the Bible? What if it was nothing more than a living human document of God’s relationship with the world? What if it is not a set of rules, a moral code, or an historical document? What if its intention is nothing more than a shout of “hey, you, yeah you, the one who is depressed, lonely, grieving, hurt; you know what, I love you. No really, I do, I love you, do me a favor and pass that along okay?”
What if…
I wonder if our heart of hearts could handle this kind of world. I wonder then…
Who would we be? How would we live?
grace and peace
What if, suddenly, we were ripped out of our lives of meetings and deadlines and rituals and all we had left was each other? What would happen to us if the only “things” left in our lives were the people…
If you awoke one day and suddenly you realized that God just loves – absent of anything we do to prove our worth, absent of any ulterior motive on God’s part, absent of any deviously created divine plan for us – what would happen to us if we internalized this idea that God just loves us and them as well…
What if, in the blink of an eye, there was no more religion, only God, only creation, only each other? What would happen to the world if people were people and life was life, and good things and struggles and hopes and failures were laid bare for all to see…
I wonder if life would suddenly become too real. I wonder if we could handle the authenticity of our createdness and our sinfulness. I wonder if we could handle living together absent of purpose and power and hierarchies.
I wonder if I can eschew purpose for authenticity. I think purpose is overrated; it gets in the way of living faithfully; it creates conflict and kills relationships; it is a shallow attempt to manipulate God and justify our behaviors.
What if life just happens and we can’t explain why? What if children just get sick and die? What if alcoholics just get drunk and plow into innocent cars? What if God has nothing to do with it, and yet everything to do with it? What if it is our fault, not the devil’s, not “God calling an angel home”? What if we cut the crap, take responsibility for our screw-ups, and believe in a God that loves us because of WHO we are and not HOW we worship or work?
What if we were obedient to the life of Christ and not the words in the Bible? What if it was nothing more than a living human document of God’s relationship with the world? What if it is not a set of rules, a moral code, or an historical document? What if its intention is nothing more than a shout of “hey, you, yeah you, the one who is depressed, lonely, grieving, hurt; you know what, I love you. No really, I do, I love you, do me a favor and pass that along okay?”
What if…
I wonder if our heart of hearts could handle this kind of world. I wonder then…
Who would we be? How would we live?
grace and peace
