The last stanza of George Herbert's poem, "Vanitie," strikes me with such stark pithiness that I am still up at almost 4 AM digesting its profundity. The last line is particularly remarkable. (Yes, Richard. Poetry.)
"What hath not man sought out and found,
But his deare God? who yet his glorious law
Embosomes in us, mellowing the ground
With showres and frosts, with love and aw ;
So that we need not say, Where’s this command?
Poore man ! thou searchest round
To finde out death, but missest life at hand."
- "Vanitie" by George Herbert, 1857
But his deare God? who yet his glorious law
Embosomes in us, mellowing the ground
With showres and frosts, with love and aw ;
So that we need not say, Where’s this command?
Poore man ! thou searchest round
To finde out death, but missest life at hand."
- "Vanitie" by George Herbert, 1857
What a completely terrifying conclusion! To have searched all your life, but missed the point of it all. Seeking life, but instead finding death. I love how this plays with two definitions of vanity:
1) excessive pride or conceit; ostentation occasioned by ambition or pride, and
2) the state or quality of being valueless, futile, unreal, worthless or useless
That which causes us vanity is also that which causes our lives to be lived in vain. It's superfluous, extraneous, unnecessary, and yet we desire it to feel of worth. Hmm...
So often my posts have a conclusion, a remedy, or a solution of sorts - if not actualized, then at least supposed. An external processing of that which I am incapable of inwardly comprehending. (Ooh! New blog subtitle, perhaps!) But for tonight, there will be no divulging and no delving, as most of what I think remains unknown.
I find myself at a crossroad in life, unable to discern which direction to take, where my will ends and God's begins. Or perhaps that's the problem: there is seemingly no end to my will, and I conceive and contrive to attain all that I vainly seek. & That only makes my way more divergent.
I wondered today... Is contentedness something acquired, granted, or perceived? "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way." Psalm 119:37
Perhaps I haven't taken it up in prayer enough. Perhaps I am afraid to, for fear of the answers I'll receive. All I know is that it seems as if I can already see my life's direction explicitly unfolding before me (presumptuous, I know), but I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with it. Perhaps I should just let it unfold and take life a step at a time. & Then there's the whole spiritual aspect. What if God's happy with it? Shouldn't that be enough to make me happy? Perhaps it's my heart - and not direction - that needs changing. Again, I don't know. It adds additional weight to know that with this life I live, there are eternal implications. But at the same time I have to remember: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34) What is vain and what is of worth?
How often we chase shadows that quickly fade away at the coming of the Light. I am assured that the Light of the World is coming. The question is, how will I answer to Him when He returns?
I better end soon before I start sounding like Solomon again, circa Ecclesiastes.
& So I pray...
1) excessive pride or conceit; ostentation occasioned by ambition or pride, and
2) the state or quality of being valueless, futile, unreal, worthless or useless
That which causes us vanity is also that which causes our lives to be lived in vain. It's superfluous, extraneous, unnecessary, and yet we desire it to feel of worth. Hmm...
So often my posts have a conclusion, a remedy, or a solution of sorts - if not actualized, then at least supposed. An external processing of that which I am incapable of inwardly comprehending. (Ooh! New blog subtitle, perhaps!) But for tonight, there will be no divulging and no delving, as most of what I think remains unknown.
I find myself at a crossroad in life, unable to discern which direction to take, where my will ends and God's begins. Or perhaps that's the problem: there is seemingly no end to my will, and I conceive and contrive to attain all that I vainly seek. & That only makes my way more divergent.
I wondered today... Is contentedness something acquired, granted, or perceived? "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way." Psalm 119:37
Perhaps I haven't taken it up in prayer enough. Perhaps I am afraid to, for fear of the answers I'll receive. All I know is that it seems as if I can already see my life's direction explicitly unfolding before me (presumptuous, I know), but I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with it. Perhaps I should just let it unfold and take life a step at a time. & Then there's the whole spiritual aspect. What if God's happy with it? Shouldn't that be enough to make me happy? Perhaps it's my heart - and not direction - that needs changing. Again, I don't know. It adds additional weight to know that with this life I live, there are eternal implications. But at the same time I have to remember: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34) What is vain and what is of worth?
How often we chase shadows that quickly fade away at the coming of the Light. I am assured that the Light of the World is coming. The question is, how will I answer to Him when He returns?
I better end soon before I start sounding like Solomon again, circa Ecclesiastes.
& So I pray...
"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9
Father, help me to do nothing out of vain conceit or selfish ambition,
but instead may I seek Your will above all else.
My indecisiveness is only indicative of my weakness
and I desperately need to hear from you.
Help me to hear You.
Lord, help me to live as Your pilgrim in this world
and to not be drawn to the intrigues of this vanity fair.
May all things that surround become shadows in the Light of You.
I humbly ask all this in Jesus' most precious, most holy name.
Amen.
Father, help me to do nothing out of vain conceit or selfish ambition,
but instead may I seek Your will above all else.
My indecisiveness is only indicative of my weakness
and I desperately need to hear from you.
Help me to hear You.
Lord, help me to live as Your pilgrim in this world
and to not be drawn to the intrigues of this vanity fair.
May all things that surround become shadows in the Light of You.
I humbly ask all this in Jesus' most precious, most holy name.
Amen.
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