I'm not going to turn this into a synopsis of what i've learned. But a simple observation from the latest lesson is what's been tugging at my heart for the better part of the last few years, in one way or another. I'll expand on this.
It's amazing. How people... being inherently social creatures who need and seek out relationship with others, can pack themselves by the millions in urban areas, travel the earth, become so much more connected by technology year after year, work closely with colleagues, eat dinner with family every night, and all too often still feel so very, very... alone.
I used to be that kid in third grade who constantly had his hand up, because I was so excited to know the answer to something and wanted to share it with the rest of the world. Like I was going to explode if I didn't get it out. Or how about when you're so madly in love with someone, and you just want to shout it out so every last soul in the world knows (or you can rest your vocal chords, cuz it's the 21st century and we have something called status updates on facebook. Or tweets.) It's really not much different from getting to the point where all the big question marks in life start to disappear... when you finally begin to see how it all works, and understand who you really are. And you wonder why everyone else can't see what you're beginning to see... you wonder what's getting between them and the truth. It's nothing short of being transformed.
In my case, I wonder what I can do, with my education, my experiences, with my own two hands, to help others bridge the gap. To see how our culture, our society works and want to open eveeyone's eyes. Set them in the right direction. Specifically, bridge the gap the church struggles so much with in reaching out to the masses... andin turn nurturing community that reaches beyond the steeples and relatively few homes that practice what is preached. To connect and transform not just a select few, but villages, towns, cities, nations. What can I do. Where can I start.
Sometime around seventh grade my hand stopped flying into the air for every question. It's been about that long since I've felt equipped with the answers. But as with many things, you need to be looking in the right place...
Shout it out let the people sing,
Something so powerful
should shake the whole wide world.
~Matt Redman (Beautiful News)
