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THEOLOGY
Sometimes I feel like a blind man being escorted through a museum by self-declared, know-it-all experts who are explaining, with unchallenged confidence, the nuance of color and light in the artwork, undetectable to me?! And, in the background I can clearly hear others who are contradicting their conclusions. And, some are even laughing?! Others are just getting angry. Surely, though, there is a master behind these pieces, reproductions, being discussed, since these pieces are only prints of originals!?
The C's and A's opine endlessly. The PM's and AM's rant and rave. "I am of so-and-so; I am of him ..."
An old hymn comes to mind, "Open My Eyes"
https://youtu.be/ZYjr9CsqHvQ
2020 VISION -- A prayer for the New Year.
(only once, in the history of mankind, will it be 20/20?! if you don't count BC?!)
Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.”
So the Lord
opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold,
the mountain
was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17
Lord, in this new year, give us eyes to see, clearly, fully, joyfully ...
to see Your undeserved, unmerited, unconditional, incredible love.
to see Your sovereign power and control over the least detail and the most important.
to see Your care and concern for all, from least to greatest, from closest to farthest, from holiest to vilest.
to see Your "glorious little ones" Your "fiery flaming ones" the mighty myriads on the mountains around us, the charioteers ...
to see Your footsteps in the sand, Your whisper in the calm, Your peace in the storm.
to see the invisible, the joy and hope and love, that surrounds and infuses us.
to see the Babe, the Child in the Temple, the One walking on the sea, the compassionate Healer, ..., the crucified, risen Lord.
to see the Matthew-25 "least of these" ... and see the blessing to respond with a touch, a cup, a kindness.
to see Him who sits at your right hand, ever interceding and pleading for us, sinners saved by His sacrifice.
to see the Place being prepared, far beyond what has been seen or imagined.
I had a waking dream about the "Mall of Christianity"?! You know, a shopping center you can walk around in, whether you buy anything, or not. So, I went into the maze and stumbled around in wonder and confusion!
There were five or six Anchor Stores. They were the biggest and main part of the mall.
1. Catholics. Oldest franchise in the mall, and proud of it! Baroque atmosphere, pomp, aristocratic, bluebloods But, why were they playing "Mother, may I?". Not a lot about Jesus?! There seemed to be a lot of Mexicans there too?! I would have expected to see more Italians and Irish. I guess they were at a different mall. It is an interesting place.
2. Calvinists. Weird place. Terminator-Borg-AI atmosphere?! Robots checking to see if they were model E or D?! Cold as hell in there. Staff really unfriendly about answering any questions. A lot about the sovereignty of God, but little about the loving Savior?! It was kind of stuffy in there?!
3. Charismaniacs. They had several sections in the store, but they were a lot alike. House of distorted mirrors with smoke blowing, and with the Joker and the Medusa pastoral couple running around?! A lot of lip about tongues, and the "Holy Ghost" -- but little about the Head, Jesus the Son of God. I walked around in there for a while, but left shaking my head.
4. Community-Churches-R-Us. Loud. Flashy. Avant-garde. Songs that were "7-11" and little depth. There were a lot of sheep, but many had been stolen?! A lot of shoppers in there.
(They all had guards to keep out the others, or maybe to keep in their own?!)
5. Orthodoxs. Not sure about them. Never went in. Foot doctors?! Orthopaedic surgeons?! Just kidding. They seemed a lot like the first place I went through?!
6. Copts. Old franchise, but another place not well known to me. Maybe they are "Hellycopts"?! Ha! I peeked in the door, but walked on by.
Many small shops selling their speciality. The smaller stores can be quite personal, but often peculiar.
1. Seventh-dayers.
2. KJV-ONLYers
3. End-of-worlders
4. Vegans
5. Essential-oilers
6. ...
Shoppers seemed bewildered. Some were there just to visit, or exercise.
Down on one end was an interesting group. The Salvation Army was feeding homeless folks and running a thrift store?!
Nearly empty parking lot. Most stores empty. Food court was busy though!
I got a coffee and sat at the edge of the food court, just watching desperate derelicts walk into the Salvation Army Store looking for a sandwich, I guess.
