More real than time itself
Albert Bogle
August 17, 2019
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Hebrews 11: 8-16 (NRSVA)
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, ‘as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.’
13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, 14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
I’m going to open up my mind to you, give you a piece of my imagination. I talk to God a lot, but it’s in my head and when I think the conversation is going somewhere I feel it in my stomach, you know it’s like being tuned in to a conversation that never quite finishes. You don’t only feel it — you see it in your imagination. And that is what I call faith established through prayer. Sometimes these conversations create a holy discontent and I end up excited but disappointed. Your imagination runs riot. You want to be somewhere else but you love where you are. It’s as though you know you’re not quite ready to go to Mars, but you will go one day.
Lord,
Could this planet be a spiritual refugee camp
Full of people
Like me
Looking to go home
Waiting struggling living,
Searching for a country
A place
To settle
The place is not mythical
It’s more real than time itself
It’s as though
It’s embedded in our DNA
To talk of it is to allow feelings to well up
Expectations to grow
So you start preparing for the journey
Only to discover
The journey has started
Real time will take you there.
Meanwhile…
Lord,
This planet is a beautiful
Campsite
Forgive us
For the mess it is in
And while we’re
Waiting
Longing and hoping
Give us the imagination
To treat it like
The home for which we long.
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