Inside Information

I desperately wish I could glimpse inside other people’s mind.  I promise I would not invade.  I would not snoop to take advantage.  I would always try to honor and protect his or her inner secrets.  I simply would like to understand what the words mean.  If only I could see the story unfolding within.  If only I could hear the nuances of his or her intent clearly.  If only I could feel the intensity I know is within.  I need inside information so our conversation is clear!  I want to make my points in a way that he or she understands.  If we disagree, so what!  At least we are working through real differences of view and opinion.  We would finally move beyond the confusion of every day conversation.
I am convinced that when we think we know, we do not.  When we do not think we know, the truth before us is so obvious we do not think it could possibly be true.  We do not know, so we hedge our bets.  We act assuming we disagree, even if we are not sure. We position, trying to cover all the options.
I listened to a writer’s comments and I find myself lost in the first words.  “Still, it's what God had in mind all along, to crush him with pain.  The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life.  And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.”  (Isaiah 53.10)  I got through the rest and realized how profoundly, passionately, and pointedly focused God was and is.  I may not understand the pain, but I can understand compassion.  I may wonder where justice has gone.  Yet I appreciate and treasure mercy.  I may long for silence only to find myself thriving and growing in community.
Today I will trust God and the good in the people around me; I have far more inside information than I realize.  I will move forward with focus.  Life is for living not reacting.