Graduate 57: Limbo

So here I am again. Actually it's more of a purgatory, insofar as I still retain hope that my time in this place will soon come to an end. And yet somehow we have come to associate such times of uncertainty with the upper-most circle of hell.

All my belongings are packed away into boxes. My clothes, sleeping bag, assorted toiletries, select books, and a few other necessaries have all been packed into the back of my car. I'm all ready to move. Now I just need a place to move to.

I'm still searching for an apartment in Riverside. $500/month is my dream and prayer, but we're still waiting for the official go-ahead from the man upstairs. (I can't believe that I just referred to God as "the man upstairs" in my blog.)

So I'm in a slightly different state and frame of mind than I usually am. Transitions (a.k.a. limbo, i.e. hell) are not fun. Thankfully I was able to get some good sashimi in me last night with my friend, Steve, which helped a lot. (Anjo Japanese Restaurant in West Covina--I highly recommend it.) But one of the side-effects of peculiar states-of-mind, as you may have noticed, is peculiar blog entries.

Of course, one gets tired of always writing argumentatively and didactically. A little change of pace is appropriate. And the contrast is extreme: rambling as I am, one does get the impression that one really is getting nowhere. (That's an example of the mutual reinforcement of form and content. I write a blog, that goes nowhere, about limbo, a place that goes nowhere.)

(Gosh, I think my "transition funk" is beginning to reassert itself.)

But God is good; that continues to be the case. I am being challenged to trust Him in a variety of areas of my life. This is a time both of great doubt and strong affirmation. I am immensely grateful for the close friends who encourage me and help to keep me accountable.

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Paul's letter to the Romans is an amazing work. I was excited when I first read Martin Luther; I thought he said some really good stuff. Now I know why his material is so good--because he got it from Romans.

I learned a new word recently: "antinomianism." It is the view that Christians are released by grace from the obligation of observing the moral law--a very dangerous view if held naively.

Steve Wilkens' recommendation of ortho-pathy as a complement to ortho-doxy and ortho-praxy keeps on coming back to me.

I highly recommend David Naugle's book, "Worldview: The History of a Concept."

I also highly recommend the sermons of Chris Brown (former APU campus pastor) whose series on the Gospel of Mark (most, but not all, of them) can be accessed at http://live.apu.edu under the links for "Kaleo Chapels" from 2001-2003. Two nights ago I listened to four of his messages in one evening. He is an extremely authentic and genuine man with a deeply passionate love for God. He does an excellent job of connecting people (and especially college students) with the gospel narrative and his material makes for an excellent introduction to (also foundation for) the life of following Jesus.

There's an exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the San Diego Natural History Museum. (July 29-December 31, 2007) I think it would really neat to go. But when to find the time...

I need to drink more tea.

I also want to read more. I wonder what it would be like to read as my primary daily occupation.

Finding God in the consistent routine is relatively easy. (Relatively.) But finding God in the midst of upheaval, turmoil, transition, and change, and holding fast to Him--that's the test and challenge.

Over all, my days are fairly mellow.

Some time soon I'll write about "new wineskins" and also about cynicism in the church.

Until then,
God bless,

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God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.