Little Lesson 5: Unfinished Works of Art

SCRIPTURE:  From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ Acts 17:26-28 NIV

THOUGHT: Somewhere on the continuum between the beginning and the end of history here on earth, my life was set down with a purpose in a particular place and time. It kind of blows my mind, honestly. This is as far as you can get from “random collection of molecules.” But, like most of us, along the course of life, I have wondered what the plan and purpose of it all is. I’ve seen myself like a dancer frozen in mid-air, or a canvas that makes no sense yet.

Paul would say the whole point is so we would seek God, and perhaps reach out and find him, though he is not far from any of us. Simple. Almost too simple for those of us who believe life must be complicated, all our decision-making fraught with angst, all our dreams just out of reach (primarily because when we reach one, we must make another loftier one).

What a relief to just believe the gospel: God is not far from any one of us. In him we live and move and have our being. We’re not complete yet, but if we’re found in him, we’re home, and there is relief in that. At any point on the continuum, we see a snapshot of ourselves unfinished, but God can see the entire spectrum – the dancer perfectly landed, the waters finally parting, the song delightfully finished, the banquet’s grand finale, the canvas beautifully complete. Ours is the journey of faith toward that end; God’s is the journey of loving us as we live and move and have our being in him.

Like a wave that hasn’t crested
A half-done work of art
A banquet interrupted
Or passion with no heart
Like a dancer in mid-air
Or a song that has no start
I’m suspended at this shoreline
Watching waters that won’t part, oh

CHORUS
Mine is an unfinished life
There are races to run
And pages to write
If I’m walking by faith
And not just by sight
Then mine is an unfinished life

Amy Clemens “UNFINISHED LIFE” 1/29/08

PRAYER: Oh God, thank you for your great love as we journey along the continuum. Although we are like unfinished works of art, we are home. We live and move and have our being in you, the God who is never far.