As Raw As It Gets

I try not to use clichés.  I blame it on Mr. Sullivan my 12^th Grade Shakespeare teacher.  We had weekly writing assignments, which we handed in each week and in my desperate attempt to be poetic I would regularly use a cliché, because it just sounded right.  My papers would come back with the same thing written in the column-“Please do not use clichés.”

It’s the unoriginality of it; they are sell-outs of truth that prevent us from using the brains God has gifted us with.  The definition of cliché is: an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, "played out."  Unfortunately this can happen all the time in our spiritual lives. 

There was a song written 7 years ago by John Mark McMillan called How He Loves.  Most people know this song because the David Crowder Band recently covered it.  It is an incredible testimony of God’s unwavering and overwhelming love for us.  I have heard both versions and even performed it myself with our music team.  I appreciate both versions written by two artists and two styles.  There is also one subtle difference within the two version, one lyric has been altered.

In McMillan’s original he writes:

“And heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss…”

In Crowder’s cover he writes:

“And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss…”

This lyric is talking about the way in which the divine God meets the imperfect human and engages in a relationship that seeks to make man more in the image of the divine.  I will admit when I first heard McMillan’s lyric I was taken aback.  I was at a conference and the music team was leading us in this song (pre-Crowder) and when I got to this lyric I said to myself,  “Did that really just say what I think it said?”

When Crowder’s version came out I was relieved to hear they had changed the lyric to something a little easier to swallow.

Recently I have thought differently.  My different thinking comes from a deeper appreciation of McMillan and the message he is trying to send.  The message is rawness before God and about our relationship with God.

As I was talking with my good friend Jeremy we began talking about this particular lyric.  An “unforeseen kiss” is nice.  It is a sweet little surprise that might make us smile, it may even contain some passion but it is not mind blowing, is it?

But this other lyric is raw.  It emits a raw passion that is unmistakable, undeniably, and beautifully confrontational with the receiver! 

This is what we need to be pursuing with God;  A rawness which makes us rediscover the reckless love God has for us and to express it to him in new ways.  You see, God is not afraid to hear of all the terrible things we have done, to take those burdens on himself so he can give us life. 

We have gotten so used to proper language with a God created the passion, which lives inside of us.  Why shouldn’t we bite down and honestly express everything our heart needs to say to God instead of neatly packaging it into a little prayer we say before bed, meal, whatever.

Our journey with Christ should never become a cliché, where we lean on pithy sayings instead of the raw truth God reveals in our hearts through the salvation we receive through Jesus.

So be more raw, and know deeper passion.

The Keel Life Defined

by Pastor Ken Platt

There is something beautiful and graceful about watching a sailboat.  The idea that a giant sail catches the wind and pushes forward is pretty awesome.  As a 13-year-old kid watching my grandfather go back and forth across Blue Mountain Lake in the heart of the Adirondacks I too wanted to harness the power of the wind. 

My grandfather was always excited to teach others about the things he loves.  Just this past summer I got a thorough lesson on our family lineage.  I found out that my ancestors have been involved in some pretty historic stuff like colonizing America.  But when I asked him to teach me to sail he was pleased to help me learn.

One thing about me is that I am tragically impatient.  I cannot wait for anything.  Even now I sit here thinking about our second child-only two months away from being with us-and I want her here now.  This has also been a hindrance to me while learning new things.  Sailing was no exception.

I donned my life-vest and climbed aboard the small Sunfish.  My grandpa began to give me instructions.  I was hearing a lot of different things, and to this day I cannot tell you the finer points of the instruction.  I do know I had to hold the rope for the sail and drop the keel down the little slot in the middle.  When he was done I started my maiden voyage.  The boat began to inch forward then gather a little speed.  Within seconds though I was in the water along with the boat.  My big mistake-I did not drop the keel.  I repeated this same mistake numerous times and finally got tired of climbing out of the water and inevitably quit.

This brings us to the purpose of this blog.  When we look at bigger boats the keel is build in.  It does not have to be dropped, it is very pronounced in the water.  One definition I found says this regarding the keel it has two functions: it prevents the boat from being blown sideways by the wind, and it holds the ballast that keeps the boat right-side up. 

Many of us wander through our lives totally satisfied with where we are in our faith walk.  Our challenges are minimal and we are very complacent about who we are.  When tragedy or difficulty hits our lives it is no wonder that many people fall apart at the seams.  They turn to self-medication via relationships, substances, food, media outlets-whatever.  This is because they are okay with just living on the deck of the ship.  The storm comes and sweeps them into the water and they grab anything they can get their hands on.

The keel of a ship runs through the center of the ship and all the main connecting parts of the ship’s frame are attached to the keel.  The ship gains balance and stability from the keel.  Because life is not all smooth sailing, you will want a relationship with God that stabilizes you through the storms of life.  God will take you deeper if you seek him. 

This is the Keel life.

Grandma and Grandpa Hutchins

 at Blue Mountain Lake