Lessons from Dissonance

Learning from the sound of nails on the chalkboard.

Dissonance: a tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements (Google Dictionary). There are many things in life that would be dissonant, if it were left up to me to bring harmony, consonance, the environmental shalom that is dissonance's antonym, to my environment. I enjoy music that goes straight to my heart and makes me feel good, noble or powerful. I enjoy sitting down in a room that has an "Ahh-ness" about it. Likely what I mean is fen shui stripped of its religious overtones. A meal well-balanced, properly-proportioned, and skillfully-served brings a pleasure that transcends nourishment and taste, though those are important elements. All of those are aspects of life that feel right to me but are beyond my grasp. I greatly enjoy the gifts and labor of others who are able to make those environments and experiences a reality. If  I were to attempt any of them--and I have on occasion tried some of them--the result would be cacophony, disarray,.and perhaps gastric distress. A walk along a creek on a spring morning, or a hike up a hill, covered in new-fallen snow, when the moon is full, or a cup of coffee at the top of a cliff with the surf cascading in its endless rhythm are examples of our Creator's ability to create a world that embraces us in its rightness. The pile of rubble that was a house, visiting a friend at the end of a battle with cancer, a family in chaos, or the ravages of government gone bad are examples of sin's power to twist, distort, violate, and hollow-out until the world is filled with a screeching sound that wails, "This isn't right." It is at this point that dissonance does its work. Our God, Who is the supreme of order and rightness, has brought even the diss-ness of this world under His sovereign will. There is an unmistakable wisdom in the answer of the fool who explained why he kept hitting himself with a hammer, "Because it feels so good when I stop. Don't rush out to the hardware store, but the much-bruised fellow makes a point, a point that is made without the idiocy in Romans 8. Read it. Think about it. Repeat. Do it again. Let the truth, especially the reality of two words, "in hope" in verse 24 soak down into your bones. I helped my son move into a "new" house. The list of things to be fixed is, as the saying goes, as long as my arm. He and his family didn't move here to settle down n the chaos. He and his wife did some calculations. They conclude that it is within their means, that they have the skills necessary to make this a house where the kitchen faucet doesn't make the sound of a distressed animal, the air conditioner goes on and off when it is supposed to, and where the cabinet door in the bathroom swings on hinges instead of lying in the floor. In only the few days I have been here I see order emerging. I have hope--I believe it is an entirely realistic hope--that this house, somewhat battered by neglect and even outright abuse, will become a haven from the turmoil of the world--dare I say, "tranquil"? God is doing that in His world. The dissonance that surrounds us should serve to remind us that this is not the way it is supposed to be, it's not the way it is going to be, and by His grace, God has given me the opportunity to be part of the project that makes all things right. I don't expect you to enjoy that clunking sound from the transmission on your car or the bitter taste of that coffee that's been on the heater too long, and I'm certainly not asking you to go around saying that what is very bad is really good. I am encouraging you, however, to join me in a project. When confronted with life's dissonances, let's be reminded that God is going to make this right, and, then, let's ask ourselves, "What can we do about it right now?" It's STTA. (The STTA link above will take you to an archive of many Things to Think About. Enjoy & Think.)

The Racket of a Fallen World

This world is not a peaceful place.

People who come to my little community here in the Alleghany Highlands often comment about how quiet it is.  Others who visit here complain about how quiet it is. A couple of weeks ago, about an hour away, a guy claiming that God told him to do it, and by some reports yelling "Allahu Akbar," stabbed two people.  Just the other day a young man from right here in my town, suited up in body armor, got his guns and went to the Dam that creates one of the prettiest lakes in the world.  He had heard from God as well.  He was calling the faithful to join him in protecting the dam.  "ISIS was going to blow it up." My little place on God's earth might not be as loud as your place, and the racket this fallen world makes might not rise to the level that its groans become audible as frequently, but"the whole creation" is involved. We can't hide from sin and its consequences.  But, we can be victorious over it.  After speaking with great eloquence about just how broken this world is, the Apostle Paul kicks his rhetoric into over-drive.   “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31–39, NASB95) It's STTA. The question is, "Are you in Christ?"  Find out more at this site.  It's a message we all need.

A Good-Looking Friend in Heaven

Something To Think About A Friend in Heaven:

When I get to heaven I'm going to keep my eye out for someone.  I figure he'll be about six-foot-four, with shoulders so broad that the first question you'll ask will be, "I wonder how much he can bench?" Impressive as his frame is, though, it will be nothing compared to his smile and the utter joy and deep gratitude that will sparkle forth from his smile and eyes.  Knowing Burton, he'll greet me before I have a chance to say anything to him. Even though I'm preparing myself, I figure I'll be awed by the voice.  I'm guessing it will be so rich, melodious, strong, and compelling, that one could be spellbound, listening to him read the New York phone book. I don't know Burton really well.  He is a kinda-sorta relative of Kathy's. On occasion he used to visit Kathy's folks.  At least once he was a guest in my home.  When I was a young teen I remember attending Bible Camp with Burton.  He was really too old to be a camper, but the powers-that-were graciously let him join in.  Burton's body wasn't shaped quite right.  He looked like maybe he had emigrated from middle earth--the last representative of a race of ancient dwarves.  His hands were stubby, and, as I remember, he didn't have all ten fingers. When he walked his misshapen feet, and joints that didn't work quite right gave him a gait that made him walk like an old man all his life.  I always had to listen carefully to Burton, to tell what he was saying.  It always seemed that he needed to clear his throat.  His enthusiasm for getting his words out sometimes outran his ability to articulate. So, when I get to heaven why will I be looking for a man with Hollywood leading-man looks and voice, when the last time I saw him he was a gnarled five-footer with cartoon character diction? It's because, though I didn't know Burton real well, I knew him well enough to see the beauty of who he really was shine through.  Burton prayed for people.  No, I mean he really prayed for people and ministries, I was among them.  He cared enough to carry on a fairly extensive correspondence with a number of relatives and friends.  He had to work hard to write or type, but he did so with far greater faithfulness than most of us who have hands that work as they should. Long before it was common for churches to record their services, Burton--I think because of his compassion for shut-ins and his enormous respect for the power of the Word of God--started recording the services at his church and sending the tapes to people.  He had trained his stubby fingers, how ever many there were, to play the piano.  He sang with enthusiasm. In short, Burton was a man who loved his Lord and served Him to the best of his ability.   I think heaven is a place where those who are redeemed by the great sacrifice of our savior will be fully redeemed.  I heard various stories about why Burton was born with the deformities that he carried all his earthly life.  All the explanations in one way or another have sin at the root.  Either something was directly done to Burton when he was being formed in his mother's womb, or his was one of those inexplicable consequences of sin in general.  Romans 8 gives the glorious account of the ravages of sin being undone by the power of our redeeming Savior.  We presently live in a world in which we, like the rest of creation, groan.  We are eternal, image-of-God creatures trapped in a marked-by-sin, time-bound existence.  We long to be set free. I received news that last night, Burton was set free.  The beauty that is the wonder of who he is, is no longer hidden and marred by sin. That's why I'll be looking for a tall, handsome gentleman, with kind ways, and a melodious voice. Welcome home, Burton. It's Something to Think About. Find out about Christ's power to redeem here.