Have you ever seen something, been part of something, or listen when you knew that it would be impossible to describe to someone who wasn’t there? I was in a meeting like that yesterday. I have thought, reflected, and analyzed without being able to feel any more confident that my description would do anything more than scratch the surface. John faced that problem in trying to share his vision with us. Even as I listen I know I am only seeing a slice.
“The locusts looked like horses ready for war. They had gold crowns, human faces, women’s hair, the teeth of lions, and iron breastplates. The sound of their wings was the sound of horse-drawn chariots charging into battle. Their tails were equipped with stings, like scorpion tails.” (Revelation 9.7)
How does one describe being in love? How can one convey the care, compassion, and intensity that are part of one’s very existence when it comes to your child? Is it possible to describe the feeling when your heart knows with absolute certainty that you are passionately and completely loved by God?
I know we use words, metaphors and other word combinations in our attempts. Yet I wonder if this in anyway touches on the beauty, awe, and power of the experience. Is it a lost cause? Are we doomed to use words that can never convey the details?
I believe our experience in love gives us insight into the answer. One can believe that one is in love, you can feel passionate about the relationship, yet it is in that first touch that one “knows” and “experiences” what this means. Without the bond of relationship, the touch everything is just potential.
Do you realize that your actions – your words, touch, and relationships – give God’s relationship a way to becoming real to others. As we live God’s touch in our lives others experience the Divine. As we walk with the Spirit others come into the Presence. As we listen and practice active compassion God become real, tangible. Metaphors that used to sit idle now live.
