So yesterday on my day off I went to the Northwest Coast of England with one of our local vicars (pastors) Ian and one of my participants Jacobs, visiting the towns of Formby and Crosby. The weather was splendid and the sunset was immaculate. However, I think the most interesting part of the day was some thought provoking art by Antony Gromley on the beach at Crosby called “Another Place”. An excerpt from a sign before walking on to the beach says there are:
“. . . . 100 life-size figures spread out along three kilometres of Crosby beach, stretching almost one kilomtre out to see. Secured on three-metre-high foundation piles, the sculptures are solid cast-iron, made from moulds of the artists own body. Your experience of the work will depend on the state of the tide, the weather conditions and the time of day you are visiting, with all the figures becoming completely submerged at particularly high tides.
Another place harnesses the ebb and flow of the tide to explore man’s relationship with nature. Antony Gormley says: ‘The seaside is a good place to do this. Here time is tested by tide, architecture by the elements, and the prevalence of sky seems to question the earth’s substance. In this work human life is tested against planetary time. This sculpture exposes to light and time the nakedness of a particular and peculiar body, no hero, no ideal, just the industrially-reproduced body of a middle-aged man trying to remain standing and trying to breathe, facing a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured things around the planet.”
While walking along Ian posed a question, asking if we felt any less alone on the beach amidst all of the statues. This really got me thinking . . . .
So often in life we find ourselves surrounded by people yet we feel completely alone. In the midst of these “people” on the beach you can for two seconds think you are not alone and that you are enjoying the beautiful breeze and sunset with others. But then you remember that these are just an iron shell of a person.
Life can do that to you sometimes. In our churches, with our friends, and even in our family’s we can be in the midst of people but really they are just shells, something fake, or lacking in genuineness. There is a longing deep within each of us to feel connected, to be part of something, to experience acceptance, and to know love. Yet, there are seasons when we stop and look around and all we see are iron moulds.
I must admit, when I find myself surrounded by the “iron moulds” of people, I often wish that I was around more people who embrace the idea that “it’s OK not to be OK.”
I think that deep down we are all looking for something real and genuine. But how do we find that? Author Michael Yaconelli says:
Our search for love, for meaning, for happiness, is often our search for God in disguise. When the bottom falls out of our lives, when we come to a dead end, when there is no place to go, we often get in touch with our longings for God. Michael Yaconelli “Messy Spirituality” p 61
But how do we find this love, meaning, and happiness? Yaconelli suggests that:
When you and I stop pretending, we expose the pretending of everyone else. Michael Yaconelli “Messy Spirituality” p 27
Last night I spent the evening having a tea and chat with one of my dearest friends, Dave. In his own sense of the words, Dave is one of the most brilliant thinkers and unique individuals I’ve ever known. The thing I value most about Dave is that he doesn’t pretend, he is honest, open, real, and genuine.
We both just recently read “Messy Spirituality” and talked about the above statement. Dave and I both completely agree that the only way we can get everyone else to stop pretending is if we model it ourselves. Author Donald Miller says:
Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. Donald Miller “Blue Like Jazz” p ix
These thoughts aren’t anything new. Why do you think Jesus hung around the people he did? They were broken, needy, dirty, honest, incomplete, unfinished, and basically not OK.
I love the words of Jesus in Luke 5:31-32 (NLT):
Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough.”
I am messy. I am dirty. I am a sinner. I am daily in need of grace. I will never be good enough.
I choose to stop pretending and I run to the arms of grace.
What do you choose this day?
Chad Mustain
P.S. For photos of my day away yesterday go to:
http://chadmustain.shutterfly.com/action/
For more information on Antony Gormley go to:
http://www.antonygormley.com/
