I've heard some people say, "Such-and-such or so-and-so is my muse!" I find it quite charming, and envious, because I can make no such claim as of yet. However, having been raised in churches that contained rather hard and constricted conservative environments, I can always predict the possible reaction of my church brethren to such phrases and ideas. "Only God is my muse!" How very Corinthian of them to say so; and though I certainly damn idolatry as sin, I equally damn such statements as snobbery.
Of course, I vehemently deny the necessity of middlemen. As a good Baptist, I hold firmly to freedom for immediacy. However, as a good Protestant, I also hold to the sacramental capacity of the physical world, that the "finite can contain the infinite," as Luther said. People, places, things, ideas, and all kinds of nouns can be bound up with the presence of God and used to convey that presence to the world. Whether it be a sunset or a song, a circumstance or a sibling, all things can be swept up into Him and used for His purposes.
Of course, I vehemently deny the necessity of middlemen. As a good Baptist, I hold firmly to freedom for immediacy. However, as a good Protestant, I also hold to the sacramental capacity of the physical world, that the "finite can contain the infinite," as Luther said. People, places, things, ideas, and all kinds of nouns can be bound up with the presence of God and used to convey that presence to the world. Whether it be a sunset or a song, a circumstance or a sibling, all things can be swept up into Him and used for His purposes.
2 comments:
Ok...I'm stunned right now...I actually understood what you wrote without thinking to hard. YAY!! I have now officially entered the world of honors speech. Yes!
Well said. Although some would argue that God is still your muse because He sends the sunsets. Isn't it marvelous that despite the pains and sorrows of this world, God put so much beauty in it as well?
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