The Objective of Conversation
Make Your face to shine upon Your servant; save me in Your lovingkindness. Psalm 31:16 NASB
Shine upon– Facebook is a failure. So is texting, and any other form of personal communication that diminishes the human requirement of face-to-face relationship. Yes, all of those electronic (and other) forms of communication convey information, but they do not allow real conversation. The human face conveys hundreds of non-verbal signals in conversation, most of which we are able to read because we have grown up in the world of face-to-face interaction. But that is changing. The more we rely on artificial means for information transfer, the less we are comfortable with real human interaction. We retreat into worlds where emotional connection isn’t necessary. We project images and words as substitutes for involvement. And then we wonder why we feel so alone.
David calls upon God to complete the objective of conversation, that is, to turn His face in David’s direction so that the communication will be more than words on the page. David wants to seewhat his words mean. I suspect that’s what we really want too.
You can email me. You and I can talk on the phone. We can video chat. But nothing replaces presence. My son, Michael, expressed his intense desire to just spend time with me, to converse about important and not-so-important things in our lives. To just be together. One more reason why the fracture of family community does so much damage. He lives thousands of miles away. We see each other only a few times a year. It’s painful. The traditions of family meals, holidays, birthdays and any other excuse to be together has been machine-gunned by corporate careers, economic pressures and failed marriages. Now we move away—and pretend that text messages connect us. David doesn’t want a text-message God. Neither do we, although if we really examine our behavior we might sadly discover that text-messaging is all we will allow in our vulnerable-saturated world. What a shame that God’s interaction with us is often treated with the same vulnerability guarded communication.
Light plays a very important role in biblical thought. God’s first creative act becomes the standard for His interaction with the world. There is nothing hidden from His view. When His face is turned toward us, all of who we are comes into the light. Maybe that’s why a verse like this scares us. We want to think that we are ready for God’s face. We know that we can’t live without His countenance in our direction. But there are so many things that must be kept hidden. Most of us put limitations on our willingness to communicate. We are afraid. Therefore, we are less human.
Topical Index: light, ʾôr, face, communication, vulnerability, Psalm 31:16
I have found the latest through discussion that people can interpret what you text in whatever way they want. God is always faithful he means what he says no questions
Many also interpret what G-d’s word say’s the way it ‘suit’s them — out of context and not necessarily what G-d intended. Shalom
I , Skip, am scared of the light. It is true. I run like a rat just like everybody else. All the darkness in me recoils from it, because that light spells death for those areas. Light forces choice.
Righteousness is painful, because it requires me to channel that Light from beyond to others. Every day, as I make a conscious choice to face that light, new darkness is revealed in that light, and I am ashamed – again. But the redeemed areas in me have to have the light, or THEY die. To the extent that my identity is still wrapped up in darkness, I feel that it is ME that must die. Even Paul said “I die daily”.
But dying to God has a curious side effect: I lose the fear of death. Because I do it over and over, it gets down-regulated. Perhaps repentance will never feel like brushing my teeth, but at least you can acclimate somewhat. My burgeoning new identity helps, too, because it welcomes those new redeemed areas with open arms, as the jigsawed puzzle of who I really am emerges painfully from that darkness.
To the extent that I can face my Redeemer, I find I can face myself and the world, too. Halleluah!
Thanks Laurita! Excellent word. Thanks for your vulnerability !
Without sound sing too “meta”…. you and Skip and many others in community say things I think about and it connects me TO y’all in a very meaningful way…. thank you for expressing me so well….not in a cultish way…. but more like “kindred-spirit” way
Dear Lesli, I write so much better because you are there! Really. I do not think the New Age has even the beginning of a grasp as to what real community is; they just mouth some words. I think the phenomenon is very real but only truly available to those who are submitted to the love that comes from heaven. May we continue to love each other.
Funny how many things I don’t “hear” or ‘see” because
“myself” was dead in the way.
Oh, to walk in the light as He is in the light.
TWOT sparked within me a whole mixture of thoughts. When Jesus cried out on the cross, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”…. or why have you turned your face away from me? Was it the grossness of man’s sin, when Jesus became sin for us,so far from what his intentions were when he created us?
Eve and Adam in the garden hiding from God‘s face, in case, he would look on them in there shame. We do the same so much of the time by diversion, not taking the time to look at Him and He at us. In so many ways we are ashamed because we don’t really KNOW him. We hide from God and we hide from each other. (I’m probably going out on a tangent here but I think it’s okay because at some point I will come back around to the idea of his face shining upon me). Then I think about Paul’s passage talking about being transformed from one degree of glory to another, as we behold him. This takes time and attention/intention.
The fear of exposure is critical whether it’s between God and ourselves or those closest to us and ourselves. Do I trust God/others enough to be naked and unashamed? Stop running and hiding. So it is a mutual beholding.
Come to think of it, maybe that’s why so much of the time we avoid God. We don’t necessarily like what we see when his face shines on us. But there’s something wrong with this. What part am I not seeing correctly or fully, I have to ask myself.
Brett is right when he says that we all interpret things differently. Maybe not correctly, but then what is correctly? But, God is our teacher. He leads us into all truth. He instructs and teaches us. He gives us understanding as we seek him. Our eyes are opened wider and we begin to see more and more clearly.
I wonder what David was actually asking when he was asking for God‘s face to shine on him. Was he looking to feel God‘s pleasure for him, as in a well loved son? So similar to how parents ideally look on their children.
Maybe that’s what Michael was wanting from you, Skip. Needing and wanting to feel the reassurance of your pleasure, Coming back to home base. Reassurance .
Thank you so much for this word Skip. I didn’t realize how much I needed it today, but my Overseer did!
It is ironic how some of those who communicate best in cyber space often are the worst at communicating face to face. I include myself in that company, but for some THIS is all we got, or at least the best of it. While it may be fake, flimsy and feeble it is, in our world, a life line and it is what that keeps us in hope of someday becoming connected, normal and perhaps even human. To retreat back into silence is to go back into darkness. My light may be dim, but at least it is not extinguished. Some day, when it is “safe” I will venture out into humanity again. Till then my words on line put out a silent SOS and then I interpret your words as either you putting out the Wecome sign or the No Tresspassing sign. Sadly, I read red letters better in the dark than black letters in the light.
Michael. This is Brett, your neighbor. Where have you been?
Hiding in plain view of the cyber and inner world. Arnella has returned from Jamaica so I can’t hide anymore so we’ll see you at The Gathering on Shabbat!
Michael, you are not out of line – in my book, anyway – when you make the attempt to be visible to this community. We are all so much richer because you are there – in all your glorious and ignominious fracture, too. Please contemplate the fact that you may well be speaking for many others who have not yet found their true voice – the voice that yelps and hollers about the real problems. I know it took me decades to speak up. I would have given anything to have someone else yelping for me until I learned how for myself! Honestly, you do not hurt others with your pain: instead you bless us with your trust in us, as well as yourself. I wanted to thank you, again, for that.
Hi, Arnella!
So much of what you have said here, Skip, is very sadly true.
However, the face-to-face presence of others, in and of itself, does not necessarily erase loneliness, does it?
And even non-face-to-face interactions can sometimes be less painfully lonely that otherwise, because we do have these idealistic desires, hopes, and expectations that the face-to-face presence of at least certain others will satisfy our deep longings for love, significance, connection, acceptance, approval, being liked, being delighted in, inspired, etc., etc., etc..
But we have all been in the face-to-face presence of others, even those we love and who love us, at least most of all, and that does not necessarily erase the feeling of loneliness, does it?
Sometimes, something more is needed in most of even our face-to-face human interactions, and we should seek to know and understand what that is and how to improve upon that, shouldn’t we, both for the good of others and ourselves?
And…..”What a shame that God’s interaction with us is often treated with the same vulnerability guarded communication.” Yes, it is! And maybe that is the essence of why even our face-to-face interactions with others can be so lacking in depth of meaning and satisfaction. You can’t give what you don’t got! And you can’t get what you need from someone who doesn’t have it to give!
So maybe when I have had my fill of the pain of my loneliness, I will return to Him in spirit and truth, even as your thoughts expressed here remind me to, and I will earnestly cry out to Him, the Creator and Lover of my soul, “Save me in Your lovingkindness!” And maybe He will do just that! After all, He promises to do so. And, He has done it so many times before!
I think we should we thankful for being able to communicate the way we are able to now. When I came to Japan 35 years ago, a 3-minute phone call cost an arm and leg. I spent way too much on phone calls as well as for flights to go home for my family. I was willing to do that even when it wasn’t reciprocated. Being close to family is a great thing. Using the resources we have to stay in contact or even money on flights to be together could be or should be a priority if it’s not possible to live close enough to see each other as often as we would like. A good example: A colleague of mine calls his mother who is 76 years old every single day. He probably talks to her more often than family members who live around the corner. He would love to live at home in Canada but his Japanese wife wants to live in Japan. He has no choice because he loves her very much and wants her to be happy. He is not a grumbler. He is not sitting in pity thinking he is missing out on a better life somewhere else. He’s appreciating what he has and is working hard. It’s not been easy for him. A spark from an extension cord that was plugged in caused a fire that burned their house down. His father-in-law died after falling down and having a heart attack when when he ran back to try to save their dog. I could give examples which aren’t positive even when there was absolutely nothing to complain about. Families separated because one person cared too much about himself or herself mainly because of the psychopathy problem we are facing these days. (Brain damage destroys lives. Brainwashing makes the problem worse.) Life is complicated and choices are difficult to make at times but if we neglect our own family, I think we really miss out on what’s most important. Life is short and we don’t know what a day will bring. Over 200 people were killed recently in floods and landslides. Lots of sadness everywhere as we deal with so many issues. What can we do to make this a better world?
What else is there?