However, I have now come to know better. I still agree with the first part, emotions are fluid. That’s the part of their beauty which adds contextual variety and changing colors to our days. But I no longer accept the second part. I do not believe that our ethereal feelings should be dismissed out of hand as a guiding mechanism just because they are fluid.
Granted
caution is always warranted, just as is the case with our intellectual guidance
system – which can, and often does, also lead us astray. But, in fact, God created us with these gossamer
feelings within. And, though they may
be, at times, a handful to sort out, nevertheless they are part of the
communicative facility which God, Himself, has placed within us.
And,
while it may not please those who insist on absoluteness in their pursuit of
God and His purposes, nevertheless it would seem He takes some issue with that more
singular approach. He seems to prefer that
added dimension of communication furnished by emotion. Did I mention that He is the one who gave us that
capacity in the first place?
And,
the good utility of those wordless urgings are starkly displayed throughout the
Bible. From David’s emotional response
to Goliath, to the “Fire in Jeremiah’s
bones” to the Apostle Paul’s “anointing,”
His deep, God-given inner drive to excel in his missionary ministry.
And,
even beyond those things, embracing this less concrete communicative faculty is
key to making the great leap from the mere practice of mechanical religion to a
truly vibrant, interpersonal relationship with God. Indeed, a true heart-oneness with God, which
is where the Living Christ is ever attempting take every New Testament believer,
means not only knowing and embracing God’s values, but also His inner passions.
That
storied “Still Small Voice” which
devout believers so depend on for divine guidance is almost always more just an
inner “knowing” than keenly distinct words.
And, can and do “Religious Crazies”
sometime use this concept as justification to do crazy things? They do. But, that’s just Crazy doing, what Crazy does –
crazy.
Nevertheless,
God doesn’t do crazy. He does, however,
often do mysterious. And, these mysterious
wordless urgings are a very real part of the spiritual life and the God/man relational
enhancement process. And, indeed, a
well-developed sensitivity to those divine urgings is key to that critical leap
from mere religion to a truly vibrant, interpersonal daily walk with Him.
