From Mount Hor the people set out by the way to the Sea of Reeds, to bypass the land of Edom; but, on the way, they became long of grumble, and short of soul.
---Numbers 21:4 (para. laca)
The people of Israel, during the sojourn in the wilderness, often remind me of the Keystone Cops --- one frantic, hopeless, ridiculous antic after another as they bumble their way toward making a 40-year journey out of an 11-mile weekend jaunt. Could they be any more clueless? Could they have any more positive signs that the One God was leading them? Good grief! Yet, time and again, God's chosen people checked 'NO' and tried their best to pass the note back across the row to the hopeful-looking kid in the new sneakers and shy grin.
Things had gotten bad. A few verses later, the people even yelled into the sky that they hated the miserable food. That fell out of the sky. Every day. For free. Just because. Yeah. They were those people. The ones movies and Buzzfeed Videos and SNL skits (and we) like to make fun of. Partly because they deserve it. Partly because they are such an easy target.
You see, they'd got impatient. With the journey. With Moses, for sure. Most definitely with the once miraculous-seeming manna (the very name of which translates, "What IS it?!"). And they were impatient with God. And the Hebrew word used here that we translate with our English word 'impatient' can be illuminated with the phrase 'short of soul'.
Short of soul. I've been down that 11-mile path before, dusty and thirsty and bone-weary and ready for anything but the same old thing. I've been long of grumble, and short of soul.
And a grace was raised up for me in that dry place, and it wasn't on my own strength my soul was restored.
Showing posts with label manna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manna. Show all posts
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Sunday, December 23, 2012
The Currency of Love
Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love divine:
Love was born at Christmas; star and angel gave the sign.
Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine;
Love to God and others, love for plea and gift and sign.
In this lovely poem by Christina Rosetti, a world where love is the currency of the realm is imagined. It got me to thinking; what would our world be like if its most valued, most precious, and most plentiful resource was love? What if, instead of money, we threw love at the problems of our world? What if we lavishly spent our love on each other, confident that more could just be 'minted'? Imagine a currency with no scarcity!
In our world, love is available freely to us, with no scarcity or shortage. The thing is, I think it is a little like the manna the people encountered in their wanderings in the wilderness. That manna fell in plentiful supply, with enough for everyone, every single day. Human nature being what it is though, there were those who tried to hoard the manna against some future scarcity, thinking to safeguard or enrich themselves. The thing about the manna, though, is that it was only good if used (eaten) the day it fell; otherwise, that manna spoiled and rotted, tucked away for greed.
Let us trust enough in the Maker of Love to lavishly spend our love on God and each other, confident in its unending supply. Yes, we can 'just print more'!
Love was born at Christmas; star and angel gave the sign.
Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine;
Love to God and others, love for plea and gift and sign.
In this lovely poem by Christina Rosetti, a world where love is the currency of the realm is imagined. It got me to thinking; what would our world be like if its most valued, most precious, and most plentiful resource was love? What if, instead of money, we threw love at the problems of our world? What if we lavishly spent our love on each other, confident that more could just be 'minted'? Imagine a currency with no scarcity!
In our world, love is available freely to us, with no scarcity or shortage. The thing is, I think it is a little like the manna the people encountered in their wanderings in the wilderness. That manna fell in plentiful supply, with enough for everyone, every single day. Human nature being what it is though, there were those who tried to hoard the manna against some future scarcity, thinking to safeguard or enrich themselves. The thing about the manna, though, is that it was only good if used (eaten) the day it fell; otherwise, that manna spoiled and rotted, tucked away for greed.
Let us trust enough in the Maker of Love to lavishly spend our love on God and each other, confident in its unending supply. Yes, we can 'just print more'!
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