At the Stop of the World
Modern English made famous a song with these lyrics:
I'll stop the world and melt with you
You've seen the difference and its getting better all the time
There's nothing you and I won't do
I'll stop the world and melt with you.
The notion of these songs is that we want to freeze frame those moments of indescribable pleasure; the moments when it seems that all is right in the world.
On the other side of the spectrum are the moments when it seems right that the world should stop and it doesn't: the untimely death of a loved one, the genocide of a generation, the heartbreak of a child. In these moments, we marvel at the fact that the world can go on. When it seems that the world should stop and stand aghast at the tragedy, nothing delays the turmoil and nothing delays the ordinariness of the rest of life.
Its in these moments while we are grieving and others are going grocery shopping, when we cry and others are cutting class, that we realize that the fact the world continues as it has for centuries past, and years to come (should Christ tarry) is just another example of the faithfulness of God. God comforts us in our pain, at the same time, He sustains our world when we are unable to fathom anything beyond our own grief. The sun still rises, the oceans crash, and its all a part from our own desire or initiative. Even when we are too consumed with loss to appreciate His good work, His good work remains.
There's only been once in history where God did stop the world (Isaiah 38:8) and when He did so it was to signal His commitment to a promise. The fact that the world doesn't stop is also a signal of what a faithful God we serve for in guiding the Earth's path, He provides for His children. In directing the sun, He is sustaining life. Even when life may seem a little dimmer, His care for us shines through. We may be feel like we are the farthest thing from being on top of the world, and yet His providence never stops.
I'll stop the world and melt with you
You've seen the difference and its getting better all the time
There's nothing you and I won't do
I'll stop the world and melt with you.
The notion of these songs is that we want to freeze frame those moments of indescribable pleasure; the moments when it seems that all is right in the world.
On the other side of the spectrum are the moments when it seems right that the world should stop and it doesn't: the untimely death of a loved one, the genocide of a generation, the heartbreak of a child. In these moments, we marvel at the fact that the world can go on. When it seems that the world should stop and stand aghast at the tragedy, nothing delays the turmoil and nothing delays the ordinariness of the rest of life.
Its in these moments while we are grieving and others are going grocery shopping, when we cry and others are cutting class, that we realize that the fact the world continues as it has for centuries past, and years to come (should Christ tarry) is just another example of the faithfulness of God. God comforts us in our pain, at the same time, He sustains our world when we are unable to fathom anything beyond our own grief. The sun still rises, the oceans crash, and its all a part from our own desire or initiative. Even when we are too consumed with loss to appreciate His good work, His good work remains.
There's only been once in history where God did stop the world (Isaiah 38:8) and when He did so it was to signal His commitment to a promise. The fact that the world doesn't stop is also a signal of what a faithful God we serve for in guiding the Earth's path, He provides for His children. In directing the sun, He is sustaining life. Even when life may seem a little dimmer, His care for us shines through. We may be feel like we are the farthest thing from being on top of the world, and yet His providence never stops.
Labels: The Nature of God
posted by N.A. Winter at
2:39 PM
4 Comments:
WOW - how unsightful you are and how beautifully written. Mom
Mom - I hope you meant insightful. I'm just going to presume that's the case. :-)
Yes - I meant insightful. OOPS!! I am not a typist obviously.
One of the greatest singer/songwriters from Argentina once wrote a song called Dinasaours. In this song he's trying to talk -in a time where we had a dictatorship and he couldn't say much- about the people who disappeared and got killed by the military (30,000 mostly innocent). Sorry for the background, but in this song -where he's trying to say that dinosaurs disappeared- as his own friends, he says: "when the world is pulling down, it's better to have no things attached". I always thought that that was a good line, coming from a non-Christian, even though he's not attached to anything at all, it always gave me encouragement to be attached to God more and more and not so much to this world. Of curse I fail- we fail, because we like this World as the only thing we know and we love the people in it. Just reading this reminded me of that song.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home