End of 2009 #1: Hear what I Hear

"Jesus spoke to them in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable"
-Matthew 13:34

I've always disliked the Christmas song "do you hear what I hear." It's just seemed kind of dumb and simplistic, repetitive and irrelevant. But that changed this year.

It's about perspective....it's all always about perspective.

The angels came to the shepherds, probably for a lot of reasons, but I think in part, at least, because they were in the place to believe.

Jesus shared things with his disciples he wouldn't share so explicitly with the crowds...because they could see and perceive things about him that other couldn't or didn't have the desire to believe.

I'm not a seminary student or graduate, so I won't begin to tackle the messianic mystery theology, but I do know something about words and symbols, and at least in part, it seems we can rely on God to always and only ever lead us and tell us as far or as much as we're ready to understand right now.

It seems easy to say that life would be easier if God just told us what we were supposed to do, who we are supposed to be or even to be with...but the truth is, we're bad at perception most of the time. Say God did tell me something exactly about the future that I'm not supposed to know now because it's too far off....how would or even, how could I take it? I'll jumpstart it, most certainly, and ruin the road I'm supposed to take to get there.

I've dated 5 girls in my life and, obviously, I haven't and won't be marrying any of them...and yet, I feel like, at the time, I was supposed to date each and every one of them....because they're all part of this road and key steps along the way to my eventuality.

If God had told me I was going to the College of Wooster during my freshman year of High School, I can only imagine how different my high school experience would have been...

And that's just one side of it....would I even believe him if he gave me the name of some woman I've probably not even met yet, or the name of a school I'd never heard of? I don't think I would....so even if I did believe him, I would probably mess my life up...and I probably wouldn't believe him anyway.

And perhaps, more than anything else, that's what I hear from God most often; "just trust me, you don't have to know right now for it to work out."

I hope you had a great Christmas and the new year is on it's way with joy and hope for you and yours.

As the title suggests, I will probably have a series of looking-forward and looking-back posts through the new year.....

Traditionally, New Year's is my favorite Holiday, and even though Christmas might have supplanted it this year, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

-Zack

"The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light"