It seems ridiculous

After Philippians 1:18-26

It seems ridiculous

to sit here, chains

adorning my wrists

and ankles, and speak

of choosing a path.

Choices become few

and narrowed in a cell.

I wait for resolution,

which might or might not

come. But as I wait,

I know that if I do

nothing more than sit

and write letters, then

the work continues,

in spheres above and

spheres below. It does

seem ridiculous and 

foolish to a man, but

eternal things usually

do. 

Photograph by Ye Jinghan via Unsplash. Used with permission.

To go or to stay

After Philippians 1:18-26

What a choice: to go on

to the end, the reward,

grasping the promised

prize, and embrace 

the relief of the end

of travail; or to stay,

continuing to work,

to labor, to build up.

Both options offer

rewards, one eternal

and one earthly for now,

and I might prefer one

over the other, but 

I know the choice

Is not mine. 

Photograph by Javier Allegue Barros via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Explanation of the heart

After Luke 16:1-13

How we use what we’ve been given

explains our heart

explains our theory of the future

explains our hope in the temporal

explains our hope for eternal family.

The people you know in eternity

will be thankful for how God used

you to get them there, or will be

gnashing their teeth for how

you helped get them there. Will you

receive the steward’s reward

of be found guilty of embezzlement

God’s resources? And so, a daily question:

what do you have

that might be put

to work to change

someone else’s

life?

The answer will explain

your heart.

Photograph by Robin Weermeijer via Unsplash. Used with permission.

The chase

After Luke 16:1-13

The chase is on (or,

the game’s afoot, Watson),

beginning with a choice:

choose the one or

choose the other;

choose riches or

choose true riches.

The chase requires

one hundred percent,

or more, neither choice

allowing a divided loyalty,

so it’s pursue one or

pursue the other.

Choose one or

the choice is made

by default.

You can’t choose both.

You can’t not choose.

Photograph by Tim Marshall via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Pathways

After I John 1:5-2:2

The two paths present a choice,

not a choice of high road

and low road, not the kind

of journey to the same place,

not a road taken or not taken,

but a choice more stark,

more obvious: a path of light

or a path of darkness.

We can’t choice darkness

believing our own light

is sufficient, for our own light

will be overcome (easily);

the darkness is too deep,

too thick, too overwhelming

to be overcome by our own light.

A different light is required, needed,

demanded to see clearly,

to understand deeply, to know

with certainty. The choice is

a double one: to choose the path

of light and to choose the light

ordained. The path is a single one:

not many paths, or even two,

but only one,

one to choose

and one to reject.

Photograph by Andrew Neel via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Purification

After I John 2:28-3:10

Nothing in this world

can be 100 percent pure

or even 99 and 44/100 percent

pure because most and

in fact all purification

processes are contaminated

by some parts per million or

billion or some infinitely

smaller amount but

it doesn’t matter.

A 100 percent purification

only happened once

in history, a source always

waiting to be tapped,

if we make that choice or

if the source chooses us.

Or both.

Photograph by Rodeon Kutsaev via Unsplash. Used with permission.

I walk a hallway

After Isaiah 24

I walk a hallway of many doors

I walk a forest of many trails

a land of many highways and roads

until, overwhelmed by choice,

I choose: not knowing

where it leads, only knowing

that the choice is irrevocable,

return not a possibility

except in memory and regret

a door opens

a path is chosen

a road is traveled

only the going forward

matters.

Photograph by Maliz Ong via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.