The title of this blog posting is the name of a sonnet by William Wordsworth. It was written in 1807, expressing his view that people were too caught up in “making it” to pay attention to the beautiful things in nature. We can easily use the same words to express our concern that Christians not allow the affairs of everyday life, careers, family, and even church activities to monopolize their time and attention and miss seeing the things that God is doing.
Even as our nation and the world seem to be ‘breaking’ apart, so also God will use these anxious times to break us, His children, from the world’s attraction, and in this process, we will see how much we still love this world. During a time of material prosperity and spiritual bankruptcy, the prophet Hosea warned Israel they need to “break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord” (10:12).
Trials and tribulations—and all sufferings—are meant to break us, detaching us from earthly things. But it is very difficult to detach yourself from this world when you are prospering and things are going well. But when we are suddenly deprived of the “things that are seen”, we realize how tenuous is our hold on them, reminding us we are but “strangers and aliens” here—just passing through! And then our attachment begins to loosen.
And conversely, the deprivation provokes us to think more about the glory which is waiting for us. And our ‘groaning’ increases, as we eagerly await the revealing of our sonship in Christ, and the redemption of these mortal bodies. (See yesterday’s blog posting: “Are You Groaning?”)
No comments:
Post a Comment