Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace. Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; our oxen will draw heavy loads. -Psalms 114:12-14a, NIV
This is the world we live in, the world of Me and Myself. This is the world that forces us to live in fantasy because the fantasies we live in seem much safer than the actions undertaken by the rest of the world! We are forced to live in a world of false exclusives, where our words are, at its best, ephemeral and of bad taste to others. We live in a world where everything is made private, yet visible at the same time; teasing, yet utterly disappointing at the crux of the matter. There are constant calls to deepen our relationships, yet we work extensively to make our dealings with humans a bit shallower. And that shallowness becomes its own idol, destined to swallow us into worship.
But, how many lives can God save through our hands that are destined for future glories, if we only take the time to share our heart with them? Be it our food or our blanket, the word “our” is the perfect antidote to the superciliousness of modernity. If the cross we carry is horrible, then why not lighten the other’s load? “Our” is the greatest challenge to our enemies: we have no need to twist arms or bend wills, yet we will show our world that the power within us is stronger —and unbreakable.
And “Our” shall become the greatest fast of our lives.