Holy Tension

I used to believe only youth were anxious for change.  But after seeing my father talk about the Spirit, pastors crying over their ministries, listening to questions from leaders all over the state, I am forced to change my thoughts there.  Adults are merely more patient, as I hope to learn to be.

It seems that all who journey with the Lord do so by the pressure of two contradictory forces, as the ship is propelled by wind and sea.  Without both present, at one time or another, one's relationship with the Lord, or at least it's health, is suspect to me.  This state of pressure, of counteracting forces, is what I call tension, and drives much, if not all, of what I write and pray.

The first and primary force: the love of God.  A knowledge of the grace and calling of our Lord.  An awareness of the present kingdom, in force and motion, changing our hearts, and the world at large.  The nearness of the presence of the Spirit.

But second: the brokenness of the world.  The gap between what is healed and what is not.  The darkness of those outside of the church.  The greater darkness we see within our very flesh.  The distance between reality and perfection.  The presence, tangible, of evil.

If either of these forces are missing, I strongly challenge your participation in the kingdom, and for this reason- Jesus ministered exclusively within their conflict.  Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I've longed to gather you as a hen gathers her chicks, but you would have none of it.  He weeps over stubborness.  He is moved to heal, as reality is found to be less than the very compassion of God.

In Christ, the love of God meets the pride of man, man who now claims the authority to judge between right and wrong.  The end result is a tearing, of relationship within the trinity and the veil within the temple, and the veil within our hearts.

Remarkably, the veil that was torn for us was placed between God and Himself, between Father and Son, in the moment of the crucifixion.  Though we do not understand, we do believe that He became sin, actively became separation from God, that we might know intimacy as in the garden, in the cool of the day.

And this mystery, the greatest of all mysteries, covers over all other wrestlings, all other frustration.  While we must remain in some tension, I believe, as Christ followers, it is a tension overshadowed by the peace of a loving Father, a mysterious salvation, a present Spirit and a returning King.  Without this assurance, mystery becomes quagmire, and blindness becomes fear.  With it, mystery becomes worship, and blindness only fuels the prayer of faith.

Thus we must be frustrated and satisfied, angsty and worshipful.  We must write, and pray, and work, and rest.  For here we are made like our Lord, and here we meet with His Spirit.  As we walk in tension unresolved, we proclaim His kingdom, and extend His love.