Active Stillness

Living a life in Christ is to live in active stillness.

Morning coffee cools in my white cup and saucer on my coffee table. After church I came back and lingered over some Scripture. The morning light is bright. I just downloaded a Bible and devotional app on my phone and read through one day's post. It is time to be still. It is a good morning.

I feel dull when I don't make time to be still. Seems like a paradox, right? You'd think being still could include hours in front of the television droning repetitive shows and annoyingly catchy commercial tunes. But this stillness is about being mindful -- with a heart open to the love Christ dwells in.

I went to the early traditional service this morning. To me, there is something refreshing to the soul about the early morning. It is before the chatter of my mind wakes up. So the message and the music can sink deeper. This morning there was a clarinet/organ piece played and it was beautiful. The melodic notes from both instruments played off one another in a song that reached deeper than just my ears. My heart started humming along, joining in a lovely few minutes of music. Every time I get to experience live instruments being played like that I am drawn into the music and moved by it. The young, talented clarinet player created a beauty that mingled through the air of the sanctuary and I was deeply thankful for such an enjoyable experience.

Then I thought about all the instruments that humanity has invented and the lovely sounds those instruments can produce, and how that is just a foretaste of the symphonic elements that God has in the heavenly realm. There are sounds & melodies & harmonies that we don't even know; that we haven't ever heard because what we have on earth is a glimpse.

That is because what heaven holds is so much more.

There's a reason we are moved by music.
There's a reason our hearts are warmed by a kind, handwritten note.
There's a reason time spent with someone dear is so enjoyable.
There's a reason why beauty in nature grabs our imaginations.

It's all because we are made with these lovely things in our hearts. Things that won't be fully satisfied in this earthly realm, but in new creation it will all unfold in perfection as it was meant to be. No restraints of earth will then hold it back.

And for now, the mystery that surrounds these lovely glimpses should remain alive. As glittering examples in our lives.