large as this longing

The biblical idea of ‘fear of the Lord,’ is widely held to mean reverence or respect for God. Okay, we need to revere God, but maybe this interpretation is a bit watered down. Maybe we’re ‘afraid’ that fear really means fear.

My ridiculously brilliant theology professor defines fear as “the response to a perceived inability to control an existentially relevant object”… Uff da. In real people terms, as far as I can tell, that means something like “we are afraid of what we cannot control.” Today in class he gave us an example.
Suppose a man and his son are enjoying a nice day at the zoo. They are having a nice time looking at the lions. Suddenly, one of the lions breaks through the bars. The lions, which were not feared only a moment ago, are now completely feared. What made the difference? Of course the lions, which only moments ago were controlled, are now uncontrolled.

I think it follows that the fear of God is in this way connected to the love of God. It is God, who is absolutely uncontrollable, that fills us with both terror and joy. C.S. Lewis new this and weaved it into his character Aslan in “The Chronicles of Narnia.” When Lucy first finds out about the great Aslan, she asks Mr. Beaver if he is safe. The beaver’s response sums up how I think we should also view God. “Safe?…Of course he’s not safe. But he’s good.”

So I spent some time today with some of my family. I don’t see my family all the time so it was a great reminder of how important they are to me. My wife and I saw our newest nephew for the first time…a six week old bundle of joy (and poop and gurgles). As I watched my wife hold the little guy, I was just struck by the amazing grace that we have been given. I mean, have you ever just sat and thought about the miracle of a baby? And I couldn’t help but wonder how this measure of goodness can exist in a world that is plagued by so much war, and poverty, and selfish ambition. How is it possible that the two can co-exist? Is either good or evil simply an illusion?
I’m encouraged because I have faith that good wins out over evil. I’m reminded of a David Crowder Band song that includes the lyrics:

“But a certain sign of grace is this:
From the broken earth
Flowers come up pushing through the dirt”

Amen.

I’m convinced that, in every part of our being, there is a longing. Every human, whether they know it or not, lives with an emptiness in their soul. This is obvious if we stop and look at our world. We relentlessly pursue things like success, money, fame, and power with the hope that these things will give us life. There is something inside us that makes us keenly aware that we are not complete; we need something other than ourselves. What if the world realized that what we really long for cannot be seen or touched? That we are called to surrender the very lives we try so hard to control?

The quote given under the title of the blog are the lyrics of a song by the David Crowder Band. This song speaks of the longing for God that is in all of us. It is a longing so deep we don’t have words to describe it.

The Psalmist praises God, even as he realizes he can’t completely understand God’s love.
“My mouth will tell of your righteousness, your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.” Psalm 71

Paul prays for the Ephesians to understand God’s greatness.
“I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3

I hope this blog can be a place to explore the depths of God’s love for us. As we read and respond, may we come closer to a language “large as this longing” for the “measure of the fullness of God.”