Invitation

Everyone has preconceptions.  People think they know what New York is going to be like.  Whatever you think, it is probably true somewhere.  Yet there is more, so much more to the city than anyone can imagine.  Great art and wonderful neighborhoods.  People who care coupled with quiet spots filled with nature.  Intense sporting events – some by professionals and even more by kids of all ages. 
 
I thought I had a good idea what living in Southern California meant.  Parts of it were true, but there’s so much more.  I had no idea there was a small community nestled in the mountains at 6,000 feet twenty minutes from the house.  It is picturesque, quaint, and altogether lovely.  I never imagined the quiet peacefulness which comes as spectacular sunset colors fade into wonderful shades of darkening blue.  I have rediscovered the balance between being near a very large community while sitting on the edge of an unending wilderness.
 
Yet our blindness isn’t limited to cities, places, and events.  Even after all multiple surprises I still think I have a handle on God.  Just as I get comfortable with the framework, limits, and interaction, I find myself discovering the unimaginable.  God is bigger, greater, and more inclusive than I ever considered.  God’s compassionate approach to life and relationships knows no boundaries.  Everyone is included.  Everyone is within Divinity’s reach.  Each is the recipient of a priceless gift.
 
The invitation comes in all levels.  We are invited to know and understand with our minds.  We are invited to experience God without limits.  The latter invitation isn’t guarded.  We are asked to “drug yourselves so you feel nothing.  Blind yourselves so you see nothing.  Get drunk, but not on wine.  Black out, but not from whiskey.  For God has rocked you into a deep, deep sleep, put the discerning prophets to sleep, put the farsighted seers to sleep.”  (Isaiah 29.9, 10)  Let God touch you when you are totally, completely, and utterly vulnerable.
 
Today we can experience God in the same way we are invited to live – to the max.