Let Go of the Rope and Stare at the Sun

the tug of war of truth is getting old

heals dig in and the rope leaves teethmarks

that sting after we walk away

but its not all just fun and games

the mud pit in the middle

is deeper than we think

some pull with heroic strength

hoping to reel in justice like a drowning child

others grip tighter with a lust for beauty

biting their lips as if planning the first brush on a canvas

determination furrows the brows of some

or maybe it's the questions

as they wrench for balanced equations

all the while knowing someone must win in the end

others heave and draw for a connection to the opposition

like the end-of-the-movie kiss when the war is over

But I can't record Your still small voice

just like you can't see a toothache

And I can't hand out Your presence

like mittens on the sledding hill

So today, I'm letting go of the rope

loving them all like You do,

and looking up to smile and

stare at the sun

"No one wants to deal with these facts. But anyone who examines this evidence will come to stake his life on this: that God himself is the truth." John 3:31b

“We’re disconnected from each other and we know it. It’s not how things are supposed to be. Even people who would say they have no faith in God or in any sort of higher being or supreme power still have a sense that there is a way things are supposed to be. And that way involves us as human beings being connected with each other.” Rob Bell, Sex God

"Over the last generation in Western culture, truth has been like the rope in a tug-of-war contest. On the one hand, some want to reduce all truth to "facts" . . . some believe all truth is relative . . . Ordinary mortals, dimly aware of this tug-of-war, and its social, cultural, and political spin offs, may well feel some uncertainty about what truth is, while still knowing that it matters . . . we must take a deep breath and plunge into the center of the story which, according to Christian tradition, makes sense of our longing for justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty, and indeed truth and love. We must begin to talk about God. Which is like saying that we must learn to stare at the sun . . . it's dazzling. It's easier, actually to look away from the sun itself and to enjoy the fact that, once it's well and truly risen, you can see everything else clearly." N.T. Wright, Simply Christian