{"id":1470,"date":"2011-07-26T15:08:45","date_gmt":"2011-07-26T22:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richarddahlstrom.com\/?p=1470"},"modified":"2011-07-26T15:08:45","modified_gmt":"2011-07-26T22:08:45","slug":"what-are-you-looking-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/richarddahlstrom\/2011\/07\/26\/what-are-you-looking-for\/","title":{"rendered":"What are you looking for?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cwhere you treasure is, there your heart will be also\u2026\u201d<\/em> Matthew 6:19<\/p>\n

Our holiday in Austria this past June, courtesy of the marvelous church I pastor, allowed my wife and I several days to hike in the Alps. \u00a0And hike we did: up, up, up, until we were high above any trees, leaving us hiking on something that was, at times, akin to the desolation of the moon. \u00a0Up there, \u201ctrail\u201d means something entirely different than down lower, where a swath is cut through trees, and a clear path beaten down so that the next step is always patently obvious. \u00a0No sir. \u00a0Up here, there are no trees, no soil to beat down, no undergrowth to slash and clear. \u00a0There\u2019s just rock; lots of it.<\/p>\n

In such a setting, the trail is marked by swaths of paint, little dashes of the Austrian flag painted on rocks. \u00a0If you\u2019re looking too closely at your immediate surroundings, you\u2019ll quickly veer off course. \u00a0The way it works is simple. \u00a0You need to at each marker, and look for the next marker. \u00a0It\u2019s those markers that will provide direction. \u00a0Be careful! \u00a0They\u2019re not always close. \u00a0Sometimes you need to really look carefully to see the next one. \u00a0But once you see it, a sense of ease and confidence fills your step, as you move towards it, confident that a move towards it is wise, safe, and a critical part of your move towards the destination.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

These markers work in clear weather, like we enjoyed. \u00a0They work too in terrible weather, like my daughter just enjoyed. \u00a0Either way, they serve the same purpose: \u00a0orientation. \u00a0Eyes that are looking for this markers (can you see them?) will find their way to hutte, the shelter, the place of abundance and safety which is, after all, the goal. \u00a0And, knowing that you\u2019re on the path to such a glorious finish, you find that the journey itself becomes exponentially more enjoyable. \u00a0Sure, you need to pay attention, lest you drift away from the markers. \u00a0But with the constant affirmation of the markers, you\u2019re free to enjoy the beauty. \u00a0Take the markers away and you\u2019re left guessing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same with God\u2019s reign. \u00a0The goal is in the distance, the resting place and shelter of God\u2019s full reign. \u00a0Along the way, we\u2019re sometimes in the midst of some desolate times: our government is more interested in blaming the other party <\/a>than making mature choices; being a teenage camper in Norway could kill you, and in the aftermath of the tragedy, Glenn Beck will tell the world that the camp, not the killer, reminds him of Hitler;<\/a> our own addictions, our own failures and fears. \u00a0A drought is killing people in Africa<\/a> with terrifying power and it appears swaths of our own country<\/a> might be on the way to something similar. \u00a0My God! \u00a0Where are You?<\/p>\n

But when I stop and look around, I see the markers, the reminders of where I\u2019m headed:<\/p>\n

1. a week of rich fellowship and teaching at Forest Home (you can hear my teaching here<\/a>) gives a tiny taste of heaven, as we enjoy food, creation, fellowship, with a wide variety of believers from all across Southern California.<\/p>\n

2. a daughter in Rwanda<\/a> celebrates the goodness of God, as God continues to knit the people of that beautiful country together with a deep healing, a healing only possible because of Christ.<\/p>\n

3. coffee with God this morning, and sermon preparation, both serve to remind me that there\u2019s a kingdom coming that will shatter all our arrogant religious divisions (and I\u2019m talking to Christians as much as anyone), humbling all of us when we see the Lamb that was slain, who, alone, is worthy of praise! \u00a0When he reigns, all death, destruction, fear, disease, doubt, will end.<\/p>\n

4. I sit in my office this morning, a place I\u2019ve not been much this summer for various reasons. \u00a0I suddenly realize that this space, too, is a marker, a reminder that God\u2019s ways are best. \u00a0The candles, the music, the coffee, the climbing, the way God speaks to me here through the word, and prayer, and meditation \u2013 YES! \u00a0God is on the throne. \u00a0All will be well, and all manner of things will be well!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen the markers. \u00a0His kingdom is the real thing, making a life lived beholden only to my appetites utterly empty by comparison. \u00a0Fortified by the vision of the markers, I\u2019m enjoying, once again, the journey \u2013 in spite of the desolation, and questions, and doubts, that surround me here; above the trees, in the fog of this fallen world.<\/p>\n

The markers, though, are still there. \u00a0If we\u2019re willing to look<\/a>, and see. \u00a0That\u2019s why you need a rule of life, and the discipline to turn to Christ. \u00a0Don\u2019t worry about failing \u2013 we all fail. \u00a0Worry about letting go of the vision. \u00a0Because when you let go of the vision, you\u2019ll stop looking for the markers, and when that happens, the pain desolation that is this world will only be addressed by feeding our appetites for sex, or TV, or recreation, or whatever else keeps us busy NOT seeking God\u2019s kingdom. \u00a0Such a misplaced life is desolation indeed!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be talking about this stuff more this coming Sunday. \u00a0I hope you can join us!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cwhere you treasure is, there your heart will be also\u2026\u201d Matthew 6:19 Our holiday in Austria this past June, courtesy of the marvelous church I pastor, allowed my wife and I several days to hike in the Alps. \u00a0And hike we did: up, up, up, until we were high above any trees, leaving us hiking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,6,8],"tags":[23360,25,23366],"class_list":["post-1470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-body","category-church","category-creation","category-inhaling","tag-coffee-with-god","tag-creation-2","tag-rule-of-life"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat are you looking for?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""where you treasure is, there your heart will be also..." 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