The River of Life

The water rises with the current flow
Waves of perfection from above fall low
What lies beyond reach is grace given
What one loses is gained in life's rhythm

Like a symphony without measure
Each moment can not be contained or held together
Grace seems fleeting and cannot be grasped
The heavens appear closed and sound like brass

Abandon yourself to the uselessness of it all
The echo of God's love is the Spirit's call
Against the current I now run
Wellspring of God's beauty says I'm God's son

Inwardly my heart leaps at the tide
Washed in God's presence I fully abide
Overwhelmed by mystery and peace immeasurable
Fully awake to God's grace joy un-expressible

Inescapable love poured over me
Garments of righteousness spread out for all to see
Even through a thousand sorrows
Embraced by light for all my tomorrows

The River of Glass

"Never judge a river by its surface" -  A. J. Swoboda

"Before the throne of God there was a sea of glass like crystal" (Revelation 4:6).  Jesus promise of abundant life is rivers and streams of living water.  The prophet Ezekiel says there is a river of life that flows from the temple of God.  And here is this beautiful, shiny, crystal clear sea of glass in the book of Revelation.  To many this could seem like a dead frozen body of water.  Unless one has spiritual eyes to see beneath the glorious dark surface, we will miss the powerful primal flows of God's Spirit.  We will miss the dangerous currents and deathly stillness underneath the surface of the waters.

I just started reading today A. J. Swoboda new book A Glorious Dark.  Swobada describes himself as an environmentalist Pentecostal.  Now those are two things one does not always put together.  What Swobado wants to do is keep together as one story line are the days of good Friday, holy Saturday, and resurrection Sunday  Can we see below the surface of these three days to how they are interconnected and flow together?  Can we see deeper into the oneness and three-ness of God?  Can we see how the whole Jewish world from the older testament to the newer testament are connected in many ways by three days?  Whether one travels along the path of the Levitical law and the sacrifices that were burned and eaten on the third day; to Abraham ascending the mountain to offer his son as a sacrifice on the third day; to Moses and the children of Israel who approached the mountain of God on the third day; to the resurrection of Christ which happened on the third Jewish day (a day that started from sundown to sun up). 

When you look deeply and for a long time at a frozen sea or a river of glass, what do you see?