09/17/2018
Sitting near to the mountainous rock base, in the midst of its cascading shade, as the long morning slipped into late afternoon, the sweat that earlier had weighed down my clothing with a great quantity now cooled me as welcomed breeze whisked around my entire being. Looking out and over the flock entrusted to my care, carefully wiping my unkempt and disheveled graying beard of the continual flow of perspiration, I could not help but reminisce of my former state compared to that which currently held me in its routine grip; why, I am not sure but for some reason today I would allow my imagination and remembrance to wander freely.
A son to none other than Pharaoh himself, sheltered in exquisite manner, pampered, lacking nothing, with servants ready at my beckon call, for food, for drink, for entertainment and any other indulgence that needed fulfilling; days were filled with little responsibility and even lessor expectations by those responsible for my care and maturation. Forty years later, as an aging shepherd, without title, without status, hungry, thirsty, alone, looking out and shepherding a bunch of noisy, smelly goats seeking the same hint of shade as me. The vast differences between then and now fueled my self-absorbed pity party and I became increasing irritated as the goats now gathered nearer to me, jockeying for position, in and out of the sun. Incapable of withstanding the tumultuous sounds and smells any longer I decided to get up and walk around the other side of the mountain away from the grating circumstance that held me captive with its mundaneness.
As I walked slowly, further away from the mountains looming presence and once again into the throngs of sun and heat, I muttered under my breath disgust, annoyance, anger and frustration, when, in an instant, I was taken back and utterly surprised with an unusual scent of fire; I knew that it seemed hotter than normal but I had really never witnessed any kind of spontaneous eruption of fire in the desert before and I was curious as to its origin. Following the odor, not too far from where I first took notice, I saw a bush that was, in fact, on fire. Yet, as I watched it from a distance, the bush was not being consumed and shockingly kept both its shape and form; its inner substance apparently incapable of being burned.
I stood dumbfounded, engrossed, and absorbed by the flickering of the flames, seemingly dancing without hindrance, for an unsuspecting old man, in the middle of the desert. I could not turn away and remained held, by something, yet without restraint; for how long I am not sure?
The wrestling of the flock, in the distance, brought me back to reality. The day was drawing to a close and I now questioned myself as to what I had been witnessing. I began to speak to myself. “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” I drew near to the bush, fixated once again upon the bush that smelled as if it were burning, looked as if it were burning but somehow simply was not. Stepping still closer, I nearly fell with fear, as a voice, out of the very midst of the bush, One of thunderous power, spoke and said clearly, “Moses.” I quaked with distress, not understanding what was happening and proceeded no further towards the bush. There was a pause and I lingered, sweat once again finding its way down my face and disappearing into the folds of my beard, seized by anxiety until once more… “Moses.” I was not sure how to reply or even if I was supposed to but sheepishly I softly responded, “Here am I.”
Father, this story, inscribed on parchments of old, so many years ago, by mere men like ourselves, has spoken to me with a clarity not previously enjoyed nor contemplated by thine son. Firstly, the light, your light, it, with great wonder, was the agent that afternoon day that drew Moses to thee, but, there is something hidden within the words so carefully written and easily read over and not given much consideration; Moses, “turned towards the light.” Meditating upon its message, surely it is a process that has repeated itself over and over for eons, to countless men and women, without fail. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” At some point in the lives of those created by thee, you draw each of us, individually, with such care and you make yourself known, in ways too numerous for our simple minds of understanding, yet, you do. Then, as the One that had, has and will conduct the orchestration of the heavens, you wait, with great patience, for a response; either a movement towards the light and or, with deep reservations, movement away from the light. It must be pleasing and painful, simultaneously, as you will never force yourself or great love on anyone; you will draw, but, you will always give a man and or a woman free will to move closer to thee and or not to.
Oh Lord, there is yet more. It notes eloquently that “when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush.” You waited, watching so patiently, yearning, aching, longing, hoping, that Moses, would come closer to you and when he did, THAT is when you called his name…Moses; and not once but twice to give him clear indication it was you, The Great I Am, that would call out to a man.
Father, my contemplations have run amuck; forgive me. What if Moses had not made the movement towards you? Is it enough to simply acknowledge the light from a distance, never really drawing closer, and if we do not, what must that do to you, what must you feel as our indifference permeates the atmosphere? We have so many questions Father, answers alluding us, yet, we cannot help but to turn, and more so, rather, we find ourselves running towards you. Why Lord? What propels us to such fanaticism in the eyes of the world? As age manifests itself, as if time were fleeting, the call comes forth, with a clarity, with an urgency, no matter or remembrance of time now vanished, as you call us by name, to a more intimate relationship with you. As with Moses, and let us be keenly aware, it shall not be for self, for he truly suffered greatly as he led your chosen people out of Egypt and through the deserts of time.
Lord, give us courage to take that first step and or step once more towards thee, let us tarry no longer, and as you witness such movement, oh that we too might hear our names specific, privileged, honored, and that we would shine brightly, with a brilliance so not of this world, to illuminate darkness and rid those that are held captive to its bondage! Though each call, specific to our individual lives, may be different in manifestation, the desired end result is the same. It is, quite simply, in the absence of your Son’s walking of the earth, for us, to now be the agent, to be the light, to be the salt of the earth, to draw, men, women and children alike to your amazing and unconditional love. So many are hurting, so many are lost, so many are painfully withering away in the confines of darkness. “The people that walked in great darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
Father in closing, burn this verse deep into the realms of our existence, while we still have opportunity, while we still have breath, and let us walk each day, lit, ablaze, by none other than that of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 60: 1-2 “Arise, shine; for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.”
We so love you Father, we thank you, we worship you and find ourselves time and time again, undone, with words too wonderful for our thoughts.
Daniel
Exodus 3: 1-4 “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”