A Poem By Steve Cline And My Reflection On That Poem

One of the more difficult barriers to get over in religion or spirituality is the difficulty so many of us have in holding several opposing notions in mind at the same time. We can be pretty set in our ways and unwilling to consider other opinions when what's needed is just that ability to deal with dualities and contradictions and living with some mystery for a time. 

Think about how we might see things: sinner versus saint, good versus bad, others versus me. Most of the time these constructions are convenient ways of justifying ourselves and damning others, or they are concessions to an unjust social order. "What a coincidence it is that God hates the same people and the same things that I do!" we might say. "That woman up ahead in line should have planned her shopping ahead of time and shouldn't be holding me up looking for money she doesn't have!" we might say out of a place of being judgmental and self-centered while waiting in line with our groceries. Maybe being too set in our ways reflects past disappointments or loss or abuse, or perhaps for some of us it's an easy way of giving in to the conditions we live under rather than trying to change things. Some folks attach themselves to holding one set of opinions or one worldview to the exclusion of all others because something has hurt them in the past and now they want order and control over something or themselves.   

I am not saying that there are not sinners and saints and good and evil or to argue for a world in which everything is relative and that human beings do not have choices and power. I am not saying that human kindness and solidarity do not have their limits. I'm not objecting to people with good ideas or lots of questions being passionate about what's on their minds. I do want to suggest that there is another way to frame our experience in the world.

What I want to introduce is another thought and a change in direction when we consider dualities and contradictions. Think about how God may see things. God is All-Knowing, but God is also approachable. God is Absolutely Pure, but God took human form and dwelt with us in our messiness. God is Almighty, but God suffered and died on the cross, and that cross holds all of our sins. God is All Powerful, but God is alongside us and shares in our weaknesses. God exists outside of time, but contains time and is The All-Responsive One who bestows mercy to us within time.

There is in God a necessary comprehension of duality and contradiction. It is not that God has to or may contain this, or that God chooses to love and not hate, but that love is God's nature and that in love there are spectrums and possibilities and mysteries. Time as we know it is the space or place or event within which (or during which) we cross spectrums, work through possibilities, resolve contradictions, and come to freedom with others and within God. You can test this next time you're in line at the store by looking around you and reflecting on God's presence in the people you see, in their very faces.

My friend Steve Cline recently posted a comment and a poem on Facebook that may open a door to considering what I'm saying here. I don't think that Steve is a universalist, as I am, but his comment and poem speak to how our lives develop in the context of God's creation. The poem speaks to change as being a constant within that creation, and a constant that gives us choices. Here is Steve's comment and poem:  

I whole heartedly feel like this was given to me from the Lord a couple days ago, I just started writing.

Many broken branches
Many trees with shallow roots,
When they were young, they flourished,
but now have become dry and brittle
A day has past and still no thirst for life
Tomorrow darkness comes, then the rain
Will any trees soak up the water
Or will death consume them?
Fear of the Lord is the way to Freedom
Some of you have lost your First Love
It's time to return
Don't hesitate, make haste, REPENT