I have been captivated of late by the very notion that the Most High God is interested in every aspect of my life. I think that at times I have seen God as a serious problem solver kind of person because I only go to him because of my troubles. Over Christmas I was able to spend time with Barb's family. We all get along really well together. Bev, her sister, and Kurt, Bev's husband, are really easy to talk to and I really feel that they are a huge support to our lives here in California. Bev and Kurt's two children, Lillian and Conrad, are so much fun to be around. Making up games with the kids and laughing into the late night with Bev and Kurt, while thinking about God being interested in every aspect of my life, really made me see that God is not just interested in my stepping through the church doors or cracking open my maroon covered Bible. He delights in me. He has this outrageous fascination with me. And when I put all of this in the first person it has much more of an effect than saying, "God loves the world. God loves all of us." No, I must say to myself, "Jason, God loves you. And when I say 'love' I mean with the same fun and dangerous love that you share for your family."
My pastor and friend, G. Prince Altom, gave me a few books to look at as we are planning a mid-week night of ministry of the Word and Prayer. One of those books is "Prayers for the Domestic Church," which exalts the place of the home as a major influence of the life of the church-goer. After reading in Scripture I took up the book and browsed again the table of contents. I came upon one that captivated me. It is in poetry style but I'll include it here in prose.
"Father and God of Fools, Lord of Clowns and Smiling Saints, we rejoice that You are a God of laughter and tears. Blessed are You, for You have rooted within us the gifts of humor, lightheartedness and mirth. With jokes and comedy, You cause our hearts to sing as laughter rolls out from us.
"We are grateful that Your Son, Jesus, the master of wit, daily invites us to be fools for Your sake, to embrace the madness of Your prophets, holy people and saints. We delight in that holy madness which becomes medicine to heal the chaos of the cosmos since it calls each of us from the humdrumness of daily life into joy, adventure and, most of all, into freedom.
"We, who so easily barter our freedom for illusions of honor and power, are filled with gratitude that Your Son, by His life, has reminded us to seek only love, the communion with each other and with You, and to balance honor with humor..."
So, I say this as I type, "Blessed are You, Lord our God, who invites us to become holy fools."
The Lord be with you.
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