The Longing for Something More

"But I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil." Romans 16:19

This past week Jeane and I took a little trip to Taos, a tiny, artsy community in the mountains of northern New Mexico. It's a fascinating little town. Settled by the Tiwa Indians, it is home to the famous Taos Pueblo, one of the oldest continuously inhabited dwellings (for 1000 years plus) in the country. The air is clean, the weather is perfect, and the views are beyond exceptional. There is art, music, dance and freedom of expression. Art galleries line the narrow streets by the dozens. One of the things that I noticed immediately was the vast smorgasbord of beliefs and expressions of beliefs that were available for one to explore. In one publication that covered the events of just the one week we were there, I found: Reading Tarot Cards Innerspeak with I Am Horse Spirit Beginners Tarot The Art of Dreaming Arturian Group - Guided Meditation & Interdimensional Travel Everything You Want to Know About Tibetan Buddhism Aidido Ten Shin Taos Kihon Dojo Japanese Art of the Sword Meditation Mondays (with popcorn!) Teachings of Thich Nhat Hahm at Open Heart Sangha Dharma Discussion and Meditation Meditation Through Chanting Personal and Planetary Healing Sun Signs TJC Chanting Circle Vajrayana Buddhism Meditation TM (Transcendental Meditation) To some of you this list might sound crazy--like the biggest bunch of poppycock you've ever seen printed in one place. To others it might sound intriguing, exciting, enlightened, spiritual. To me it sounds like the great Deceiver is alive and well in the idylic little village of Taos, New Mexico, just as he is everywhere. Here's the thing, good people: Man has a deep need to explore the spiritual. We long for something more--something beyond ourselves, and until we find it we will search like we search for a lost set of keys: we look everywhere. The truth is that we need to be captured by something (someOne!) greater than us. It is the way we were created. We are like a horse looking for a rider to take us where we don't know to go, but where we need to go. That is why Scripture is full of exhortations that we "give" our hearts to the one true God. Salvation happens here on earth, not just "up there." Salvation is something God does, in Jesus, and not something you must do on the stairway to heaven. God is pleased when faith is restored in the creature, trusting completely in the One True God who saves.         "I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." Romans 16:17-20 Greg