A Poem For Three Weeks Ago

VI

On this fair date we are the hour of birth
Reminded of, in which a gleaming star
Didst come and deftly take her place on earth—
(This when compared Orion seems too far.)
A twinkling eye ‘midst beams of laughter there
Reminds us all of joys and carefree days;
Though gazing at a world so sinister
To her Creator turns back only praise.
She is no star, a greater light than that
More like the moon in midst of fullness be!
Illuminating nights and days in fact
By drawing others in to come and see.
A life, a light, now shone, God’s work in you
So stands my thoughts at this, your twenty-two.

-J. Ziefle-

For Better or Worse

It's very postmodern and "cool" to talk about Christian theology as having to do with relationships. For whatever reason, it seems to be the thing to do these days.

While some of this may be the winds of current trendiness, there is something deeper there. At least I'm becoming convinced there is.

You see, the more I think about faith the more I think about it in terms of a relationship with God. One that is dynamic, messy, prone to high and lows, and which needs constant attention and work to be maintained. No human relationship exists without these characteristics...and I'm not sure that our lives with God are any different.

With regards to relationships, what I am currently pondering most is marriage: how two people--dissimilar in individuality yet united in commited love--covenant with God, each other, and gathered witnesses to share their lives together no matter the circumstances and no matter the cost.

We know the vows. Sickness. Health. Rich. Poor. Better. Worse. A man and a woman simply promising to be there one for another no matter what.

While we know that this picture of marriage often fars fall short of how it is practiced in our sadly broken world, it's a good model. So good that it reminds me of the way that we are supposed to exist as Christians. As the Church. In our respective churches.

Like man and wife, we choose to be in relationship with God and by extension His family. We exist with them together. Whether or not we always "like" being in this relationship is immaterial. Because of the commitments we have made to God we need to stick it out. Work through it. Remain connected.

Just as--because of their vows--no husband or wife ought to end a marriage over one argument, so too no Christian should leave a church behind because of a bad spell or season. It goes against what it means to be united in Christ. What it means to be in a relationship.

I tell this to a married friend of mine who has problems with the current state of his ecclesiastical experiences. I share it because I believe it...and because I know that only by persevering in commitment to each other and the vows made--spoken or simply understood--can real relationships ever prosper.