"And then one day you find
Ten years have got behind you..."
Forgive me, bloggerland, for I have sinned;
It's been six years since my last confession.
For those of you who remember "The Empty Pulpit," welcome back; for those who are new to the conversation, welcome.
Things have changed.
Since I signed off six years ago from trying to figure out where God was in the midst of significant changes in my own personal life, not the least of which included uprooting my family, moving to Houston, my wife starting her counseling practice, my kids growing up, and me continuing to try to tell people that God actually cares, the world went and got itself in a number of crises of its own.
Meanwhile, at least three generations of people either grew up, settled into adulthood, or welcomed grandkids.
On the good side, more people seem to be insisting on virtue than ever before, talking about things like kindness and peace and gratitude.
On the bad side, more people have to insist on virtue than ever before, talking about things like kindness and peace and gratitude since we are surrounded on all sides by impatience and hatred and ingratitude.
Old stories that somehow predicted the future have come to life before us, slowly evolving from the entertainment focus of Brave New World to the inauthenticity of 1984 to the strange truths of Demolition Man. That's right, folks. A Sylvester Stallone movie from the 1990s hit the nail on the head when it peered into the future and imagined a world filled with people addicted to personal technology.
And yet...
The eternal truths of God's promises have not changed, no not one bit. Even while we distract ourselves with our toys, we can look back into the past and see all kinds of generations and nations and tribes who have come before us, peoples who mastered distraction long before any of us arrived on the scene.
And do you know what God told them that God still continues to say to us? Same as it ever was. God keeps promising to say "Yes" to those of us who in acts of bold faith dare to say "Yes" back to God.
This is anything but blue skies and rainbows. But I promise you this: If you want to come along on another journey here at "The Empty Pulpit," we will say "Yes" to God together on the days when things make sense, on the days when the world makes no sense at all, and every day in between.
Welcome back to "The Empty Pulpit."
