2024-06-18 A Meditation on All Things Known

“26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Rom 8:26-30 ESV)

Life is a bit detached, with personal scope and perimeter a bit disjoint on some level from each other. Yet, all things will be revealed: our pain-averse thoughts and comfort zones; these will come under the Master’s Tutelage, who will not evade anything but rather will give us the calm and indeed Forgiving hand, by which comfort we shall with gladsome hearts approach that Holy Realm called Mutuality.

Mutual: our worlds met up at last. Mutual: our give-and-take a moot point for folks fit into the Master’s Plan. Mutual: our most sensitive longings, our pain or desire, our fact-of-the-matter plain-spoken Truth, all this worked over and into if not copacetic peace then humor, then understanding, then acceptance, then forgiveness.

That is, to be plain: some avenues taken do astonish us suddenly with a whole new room of the mansion lit up; we were risk-averse; we were pain-averse; but some strange Encounter or for instance the Love of a romantic partner (see Song of Solomon for this timelessness), for example the approval of a respected and competent and staked-out overseer, boss, commander, this can turn on the lights for us. It is not to deal directly with our pain and averse thoughts, but rather subconsciously life is always rewiring and reconsidering how and what connects from here to there. And so an unexpected Gift does light up the room. An unexpected friendly pat on the back, does become the thought that possesses our thinking time. A laughter reminds us, hey, after all, we are not that Goon in the Equation we once thought. Sometimes Grace is precisely when the attention is turned away from we ourselves.

But to the Hope: that each would look outward rather than inward; yes, those strange behaviors will be judged by a Friend in the Sky; but more than that, precisely by looking outward we Live Into the Normalcy of a play or movie or family heraldry or expectation or classroom. We see Normal Things happening, and this is the bullheaded use of Law to shape and form; but it helps, when the evil things are not even mentioned for it would be non-fitting, obtuse, salacious, ill-wise fascinating. That is, theologians fuss about not thinking “good moral behavior” be the remedy; and it isn’t; however, all life has an escape valve, and we the contributor of Thoughts to the Demonstration and Display, find a reassured Moral Compass, Bedrock, “Oh yeah, people CAN be normal” reaction.

Then to the ramparts, and to the Day’s Mission: to know ourselves New Creations in Christ and therein to Know Ourselves to be Peace and Joy in believing. When time is short, though time be of the essence, short time calls for trench-theology: that we are in fact heading somewhere special on the Last Day; that we are true Children of a Higher God; that we are also not bored with life doing all the heavy lifting for us: we love and like to do God’s work with gladsome exchange. And we have our spaces carved out until that Day when all things work together, when all secrets will be revealed, and when we of all people shall be front row in the comedy take on it all, as opposed to the stern reprimand of it all.