Tonight I am thinking about feelings. I feel joy. I feel peace. I feel contentment. I feel like there is more than this existence--that there is a Being who transcends us in a world that is really real--a world beyond us and above us that calls out to us to live and make our dwelling there.
And then I think these are not feelings at all. What is a "feeling," really? I feel cold, but I am not cold. Cold is not my essence; it is simply a present, passing state until I find an outside source to bring warmth. I feel love, but even this is conditional. Change the conditions and anger or resentment can too soon replace that love. I feel joy, but take away its source, and I'm left feeling empty. And alone.
So maybe what I'm feeling tonight isn't "feeling" at all. Maybe I'm simply in tune with Reality. Whether or not I feel it, I have joy. Whether or not I can perceive it, peace is there. Regardless of my circumstances, contentment is.
Maybe we spend a lifetime searching for a feeling and chasing the wind, when an unshakable reality surrounds us, penetrates the very fiber of our beings, and simply....is. Maybe we are too afraid to relinquish control and allow ourselves to just be--to just dwell in Reality and realize that there is so much more to this life. Just maybe.
2 comments:
Very wise post. I like how you worded the first two paragraphs. This is one thing i have had to battle with a friend of mine: the importance of feelings and experience. I have maybe gone of the deep end on the other side as a response to his position and i discount most "feeling" and "experience" and only judge Reality by Scripture. I'm not saying this is a bad thing but just that feelings and experience are there for a reason.
And i would mostly say that my experience and feelings "jive" with the message of the Bible instead of residing in a state of dissonance. This is obviously comforting and i don't think it is by random chance.
But you are right to stand off a bit from "feelings" and to more carefully evaluate life. Good thoughts. Were they original?
Andrew,
My thoughts are original. I tend to "blog journal" about whatever God is teaching me at the moment.
It is difficult to strike a balance between appreciating the gifts of "feeling" and "experience," and yet realizing that they, too, are tainted by our fallen nature and not always an accurate litmus test of God's voice, direction, and truth. I appreciate that you emphasize the importance of Scripture, because ultimately it is only God's revealed Word that can serve as the judge of our feelings and experiences, and the lens through which we can interpret these.
Thanks for reading the blog and for commenting. Do you have a blog? I would be interested in reading what God is teaching you as well.
Jenny
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