One of the many cool things going on right now is that we are (as a community) reading through the Bible together.
Sounds pretty boring right? Parts…. yes. Whats cool though is that there are lots of things in orbit around what we are reading including a blog, small groups, and the sermons. All of these more or less act as spurs and serve as reminders to engage the Bible routinely.
With that said, the part we are in now is a less encountered portion. Not long after some of the vastly more memorable portions (i.e. the Plagues, Red Sea) and in the midst of some pretty insightful miracles that happened comes the book of Numbers. At this point in the story the people God rescue become great complainers. And the question I have to ask myself over and over again is…. Would I not do the same thing?
We cannot live in any moment but the present. Sometimes that sucks. I know there have been many moments in my life where I would have loved to have a “Hot Tub Time Machine” and go back and relish in a point of comfort and confidence in my past and hold on to that in the present. Serving as memories though things seem so distant… There are also times where I wish I could jump to a hope I have for the future and rest in seeing the potential of a current situation fulfilled. Sometimes these hopes can seem aloof in the present… How do I stay confident in the now?
I don’t think the people in Numbers forgot what God had done for them. I think there is a detachment that comes with any experience over time if it is not revived or relived. I think the people had forgotten the power and the confidence and the trust that came through those experiences. They remember it happening sensorily but maybe not the feelings produced from those senses. Could they have been grumbling and complaining because they couldn’t reproduce the feeling of awe and wonder in themselves that they had experienced before?
How do we maintain our sense of wonder in this present moment and in every moment… or do we?
This is the question that I’ve been wrestling with as I read through Numbers. I do not think that I am any better than any of the people in Numbers. I cannot say that I would not have complained. I hope that I wouldn’t but I don’t know. I thought I would give a glimpse into where I was at.
this “I don’t think the people in Numbers forgot what God had done for them. I think there is a detachment that comes with any experience over time if it is not revived or relived. ” is SPOT on.
i think the same happens to me on in a cyclical way. i remember things, but i can’t recreate the feelings, so i worry and i distrust and i become cynical, doubtful, furrow-browed. and then Jesus pulls me through it. half the time i create more muck for Jesus to pull me through than was there in the first place, i’ve just become one with the muck.