love always.There is this romantic idea in our minds of going out to the wilderness to find peace. As though all of our problems were society, technology, politics, or as Sartre put it “hell is other people”. We’ve come up with this Western romanticism that says if we can just flee, hit the open road, go into the woods, or into the cabin, like a hipster version of Henry David Thoreau, all of our problems would be solved. We would ‘find ourselves’. There wouldn’t be the noise of all vinyl records playing from pitchfork bands we didn’t really like that much (gotta look cool listening to Wavves), the costs of expensive loose-leaf teas ordered from FREE TRADE companies and TOMS shoes. We would be free! Free from the shackles of consumerism and Americanism! Free at last!…right?
We flee from our fears and find out that our greatest fear is what goes on right between our ears, the lies of our mind and heart. We cannot escape ourselves by going into the woods or ‘finding ourselves’ on a summer backpacking trip to Europe. We will not escape or find ourselves…We are not the point of life. HE IS!
Christ is not looking for a polished and finished product, He isn’t looking to perfect us in a day. He is looking for love. He is looking for someone who knows they are weak that will come back to Him everyday. There we will find our rest, not in the woods, not in Europe. Not that these things are bad, they just aren’t perfection. The burning perfection of passionate love…Jesus! He is the only thing that satisfies. We must learn it. We must ask Him to come and satisfy.
This.
