Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Space Between...

Many of you know I'm an absolutely HUGE Dave Matthews Band fan. I appreciate the complexity of his music and the uniqueness of his sound, and I find myself listening to his stuff whenever I need to chill or when I need a spark of creativity. One of my favorite tunes by DMB is "The Space Between" because it portrays relationships and people for that matter as fallible and flawed. I very much like the honesty in characterizing us, as a human race, as imperfect people who are hopefully trying to make things work!

"All we can do, my love-is hope we don't take this ship down"

GREAT LINE!!! There's a kind of insecure hope that's dripping from those lines. It's optimistic, yet at the same time is aware of the circumstances and whats going on around them.

In my faith, I hope I portray this authentic kind of truth and transparency. I think we as Christ-followers should not live in shame or fear, but we should also not live in a forced utopia where everything is alright. We should live in the space between:) A space that shows compassion and mercy to the world, knowing full well that we need that same compassion and mercy in our own lives. A space where we don't have to pretend that everything is alright or that we even knows what's going on for that matter, rather we live in authentic optimism of what life could be like. A space that realizes our own limitations and weaknesses and doesn't try to portray our lives as put together or figured it. You can't fake life, all that leads to is emptiness and a hollow soul.

I want people to know "ME" not a version of me that I'm manufacturing to make myself look better or holier than thou. Many people who have walked away from Christianity have done so because what they see is either a masquerade or its a person hypocritically telling them how to live their life. Being genuine isn't something to shy away from, rather something to aspire to. When we understand that we are ALL in this world together and that our insecurities and our fears and our scars and our mistakes are what makes life beautifully chaotic, we finally realize and can grasp the life changing grace that's offered to us.

I very much love the life in the space between perfection and fallen. It's a place where reality can occur and we can daily rely on Christ and realize that none of us has all the answers nor do we need to. It's a place of beautiful brokenness:)

Cheers,

travis

2 comments:

  1. I agree. Because God knows I'm not perfect. In fact, clinically un-perfect. And Christian people don't always understand my disability. That's why it has become my mission to open it up and not play like I'm just like everyone else. It's alot better this way.

    FYI: Dave Matthews band make my ears bleed. Try Pearl Jam and then we can talk.

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  2. This is Rayellen :) Wow, good stuff Trav! This is totally where Steven & I are. We had friends over last night and that's exactly the topic that the evening was centered on. We were real and so were they and of course in turn, Christ did a work. LOVE IT! That's what the church should be and look like...in the space between. Full of mercy. Miss you guys and love ya'll!

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