145 (poem)

Today was my last day of proofreading academic papers. I'm so thankful to have had this job for the past year and a half. It was fascinating reading papers on a wide variety of topics, everything from the history of pirates to Chinqua, the Chinese artisan who worked in London modeling clay figures of European noblemen, to the Yorkshire dialect in literature and TV to efforts at restoring the harlequin toad to the most effective way to kick a soccerball to the history of restrooms to prison reform in France. . .

I thank God for this chapter (or should I say section?) of my life, and I look forward to my next steps. Today I found one of my journals from a year and a half ago. Upon receiving the proofreading job, I had written my own version of Psalm 145. I share it here to recount the goodness and provision of God.

"145"

Praise praise praise praise
Thanks thanks thanks thanks
Yes yes yes yes

I will give

Praise praise praise praise

to the Lord
for he has been
so good
to me.

Every day I will

Bless bless bless bless

You

and tell
of all
Your mighty works

You who are
gracious and merciful
slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love,
good to all You have made.

You hold the unsteady
You raise the humble
You provide food
with an open hand.
You satisfy all we desire.

Just and kind
You are near to all who call on You.

Praise praise praise praise
Bless bless bless bless
Yes yes yes yes!

Hymn: Though I have tried to follow you

Almost a year ago I wrote a hymn about God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I've made a few revisions to it so that the meter is entirely uniform. I'm more satisfied with the ending now, too, since it more clearly expresses what I hope to convey.


Though I have tried to follow you
I find I'm still in need
of your strong light to heal my thoughts
and guide my every deed.
How narrow is the road to life!
How easily I stray!
Yet still my eyes are fixed on you
to navigate my way.

When you walked down the streets we knew
you offered all your grace,
forgiving those who turned to you,
revealing God's embrace.
When you hung high upon a tree,
you saw where I was lost
and drew me with your broken heart
to meet you at the cross.

Your wounded body broke like bread,
your blood poured out like wine.
You lifted up our life and death
to save us for all time.
You tell us now to take and eat,
for in this, you are found.
We eat and drink this healing meal:
we stand on holy ground. 

So make us strong to do your work
and follow all your ways,
to share the gift we have received:
new mercies every day
and travel on this narrow path
that flows through time and space
uniting all who turn to you,
revealing God's embrace.


Text: Josh Seligman
Tune: RESIGNATION/CONSOLATION
Revised Jan. 2020, this time for theological reasons

What do we imagine?

Lately I have been thinking about how our plans shape our lives. A verse that comes to mind is Genesis 6:5: "The LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually" (NRSV). One translation replaces the phrase "inclination of the thoughts of their hearts" with "everything they thought and planned" (CEV), another with "every intent of the thoughts of his heart" (NKJV), and another with "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart" (YLT). The passage goes on to say that, upon seeing humanity's evil works and imagination, God grieves.

Thoughts of our hearts, inclinations, plans, intentions, imagination--these are related to each other, and they are also related to our actions. It seems that our actions spring from our meditations. As Jesus says, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). This makes me ask, What do I imagine? How might that influence my actions and decisions?

Children of God are called to reflect the kindness, justice, and righteousness of God. Does our imagination, do our plans and dreams, express such qualities? If not, how can they?

It seems that our imagination is fed by everything we observe. Just as a writer writes mainly with words that are part of her vocabulary, we imagine primarily with images that are part of our memory. The root of the word imagination is image, which means something that represents something or someone else--usually in a visual medium, like a drawing or a sculpture. So, what images do I look at? What kinds of movies, TV shows, Facebook posts do I see? What music, whose voices do I listen to? On a deeper level, what do I read? What stories, ideas, characters live inside my imagination? Beyond human creations, how much time do I look at, listen to, smell, taste, feel things that God has made--the warm light of the setting sun brushing against the tops of trees, a pillar of cloud climbing a mountain? And how do all these elements and my memories of them interact inside of me?

In contrast to the thoughts and plans which grieved God, maybe the goal is to cultivate an imagination that reflects God's character. Perhaps this resembles the Apostle Paul's encouragement to think about "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise" (Philippians 4:8). 

God created humanity in God's image (Gen. 1:27). We are called to be works of art which represent God in the world. May God purify our imaginations so that we bear the fruits of kindness, justice, and righteousness in our actions, and may we feed our imaginations with works of art that reflect God's character so that our very thoughts and intentions bring delight to God.

Micah's good plan

Yesterday I wrote about how our plans shape the world. The prophet Micah describes how the wicked plans of the people of Israel become evil actions:

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning's light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields and seize them.
They defraud a man of his home,
a fellowman of his inheritance.
Micah 2:1-2

Micah goes on to proclaim God's judgment against the Israelites for their evil. But then, at one crucial point, Micah shifts his perspective. Instead of speaking against the people, he confesses his own sin, asking what he may do about his guilt:

With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD
require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
verses 6:6-8

We are not forgiven of our evil deeds through material sacrifices, Micah writes. What does God seek from us? That we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. It almost seems like Micah is writing that we need a new plan, a plan God has already shown to us, only we never before put it into practice. God desires a change in our character so that we reflect the character of God, who "desires mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). The sacrifice God asks of us goes beyond any possession we may offer; God requires us to give him our very heart.

It is in the heart where we make our plans. With God's help, may our hearts so change that even our dreams and intentions align with the dreams and intentions of God, and so also our actions.

Reflections on the new year

Happy New Year!

Last night I reflected on the previous year and thought about the year to come. It seems the beginning of the new year is a time when many people think about the future. We make plans, we dream, we prepare, and all of this is done in hope. The future is a mystery, but we move into it with our plans and goals, much like creating a work of art, striving with hopeful certainty that it will one day be complete, bringing satisfaction. Followers of God prepare for the future in the hope that it is not only we who are creating, but that God is creating through us; as the Psalmist writes, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). This verse implies that while we do take action in building, most importantly, we need to build according to God’s architectural plan, in cooperation with God, otherwise our work is meaningless.

Who, then, is this God we must work with? How can we know we are creating alongside God; in other words, how can we know we are doing God’s will, living as he desires we live? Perhaps the following passage from the book of Jeremiah will help. I read it yesterday and have been reflecting on it in relation to the new year:

This is what the LORD says:

“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom

or the strong man boast of his strength

or the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:

that he understands and knows me,

that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,

justice, and righteousness on the earth,

for in these I delight,”

declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

God has given us the gift of creativity, with which we shape the world. Consider how our designs steer the direction of God's creation, how they help and harm the planet: animals, plants, the elements, and fellow humans. It is with creativity that we prepare for the future. In our plans and executions of those plans, we often showcase our skill, our intellect, our resources, our abundance. While in many cases these qualities are good, God tells us through Jeremiah that such displays don’t quite represent the character of God. Who is God, and what does God make in the world? Kindness, justice, and righteousness; in such things he delights. If we are to be proud of something, it should be that we know and understand this God, and act in accordance with God’s ways.

How can my creating reflect the character of God? The future belongs to God; this year is in God’s hands, and God is already performing kindness, justice, and righteousness in the world. As I think about 2016 and as I act on my plans, may I do so in harmony with God, sharing his pursuit of kindness, justice, and righteousness. May my boast be solely in knowing this God, whose heart is merciful, most clearly revealed to us through his son Jesus, whose kindness, justice, and righteousness continue to create the world.