I was watching "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" today which is the 3rd Narnia movie made. There is a scene where Edmund is at the edge of Midas' pool, or whatever its called. Anything that touches the water turns to gold. Edmund tells Lucy, "We could be so rich..." And Caspian says "You can't take anything out of Narnia."
I'd like to ask, what do you think the purpose of dreams are? Freud said that they are the result of you needing to "play out" whatever your subconscious mind is thinking about and, most often, they have to do with sexual thoughts in the subconscious. This sounds ridiculous to me because if God created this whole concept of dreams, surely such a wonderful and powerful thing would be more...useful, right? Think about the times dreams are mentioned in the bible. Jacob's ladder, Joseph being told to take Mary as his wife.....this list goes on. I don't think there is one sole purpose of them; I believe it to be a multip functional tool.
The concept really frustrates me when I get something awesome in a dream (um...a horse?) and I wake up and it is no longer mine. Sometimes I even realize that is is a dream and I pray that I don't wake up so that I can posess that item just a minute longer. But no matter what, you wake up- it can't be avoided.
This is no different that what will happen with us someday. I see so many people on TV with great wealth and many possesions. The hoarding shows are proof as to how attatched people can get to their stuff. Sometimes I feel that way too. What would I do if my house caught fire? My artwork, computer, clothes, books, etc. would be gone. How would I feel and how would I react. Even if that doesn't ever happen, someday something similar will happen. When we die, none of these things can go with us. Only the treasure you store up in heaven will be with you. I was scrapbooking yesterday and I suddenly felt unease because I spend so much time trying to be "creative" and writing and making art almost as if I am trying to build up a "treasure" that can stay with me throughout my life. Maybe even when I'm gone my children will read and look at this stuff. But still, does it really matter?
It's not a bad thing to enjoy doing things that won't last forever.
Just know which things are more important.
I will definately be working on this.
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It's DEFINITELY not wrong to pursue creativity, talents, etc. Use the talents and gifts God has given you! He wouldn't have blessed you with them if he didn't want you to use them.
ReplyDeleteNo, we can't take anything physical with us to heaven. But we can use physical things in a spiritual way, of sorts. Music and art are just two talents that can be used to share the Gospel. Writing is another BIG one! Using your computer to blog and share your faith is God-honoring and could very easily have eternal effects. In your art, in the way you dress, in the books you read, you can honor God and witness his presence in your lives to those around you.
I do most certainly agree with your last two lines. I've found that having an eternal perspective on life makes all the difference in the world--literally.
Thanks so much for this insightful reminder. In a materialistic and "it's-about-me" culture, it is vital that we encourage one another to allow God to work through us as we serve Him, and therefore, others. I think it's important to look at our motivations as we consider leisure activities. Scrapbooking can be a creative expression of our love of life and appreciation for people God has placed in our lives. That's wonderful! It's when we get too competitive with appearances, absorbed with perfection, or let such activities take away from meaningful time with others that it's time to evaluate our purpose in such a past time. Keep scrapbooking :)
ReplyDeleteI think part of my motivation for assigning "artist dates" or "writer's retreats" was to help us break the habit we all have of needing to be productive and useful. I'm reading a great book right now about compassion, and part of the message is that Christ worked through a downward motion rather than an upward one. Karl Barth says Jesus worked from "the heights to the depth, from victory to defeat, from riches to poverty, from triumph to suffering, from life to death." American culture defines success as better health, higher salaries, winning...everything is about "moving on up." The great paradox of it is that Christ moves us up by moving Himself down. So, I'm trying to learn to not worry about being successful so much anymore. I think, through our writing, we can put ourselves in the place of those who cry. And through our "leisure time" we can replenish and rejuvenate for the hard work of suffering with the world and with Christ. Wow. That was a really long way of saying there is nothing wrong with taking time to scrapbook. God knows we need to find a quiet space to reflect and jump out of the rat race.
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