Going Deep

Sketch of Mt. Shuksan in ink/colored pencil

Substance and depth are the meat and potatoes in life.  Contrast that with shallow, trending, superficial, and empty.  Life is too short to be taken up with whatever is light and frivolous. This doesn't negate joyfulness, rather even joy is to be pursued seriously, too!  Benjamin Disraeli, British statesman, wrote:  "Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."  

(North Cascades)

Along those lines, Sunday I was challenged by something I read in our church bulletin about being a deep person:

"Beholding glory begs for lingering.

The modern, fast-paced world will tempt you to rush and skim.  This kind of life will make you shallow.  The world does not need more widely read, shallow people.  It needs deep people...

I mean you have seen glory---the glory of God in his Word.  You have pondered it and felt its relation to all the parts of your life.  You have been steadied and satisfied by it.

You have come home.  You are not frantic anymore.  You are at peace in the presence of God.  This is what I mean by deep.  This is what the world needs."

                                                                                  ---John Piper

                                                                                  The Pleasures of God

(Mt. Shuksan - North Cascades)

I also like the injunction in this statement by F. La Gard Smith for us to go beyond shallowness to the real treasure of true life:

"God says to us, "Dig deep.  True life is not just what you see around you, but a treasure I have hidden beneath the surface.  Dig it up and bring it into your world. You can use it to build, to beautify, to glorify.'"

Live bravely and beautifully!