The Chameleon

Here comes the chameleon full of vim and vigor,
Celebrate the color of the day.
He's going to be your best friend,
Better yet, he'll be you;
Celebrate the color of the day.

He tells of great passions and commitments;
He tells of deepest affections.
He speaks on impulse and feels each moment.

But he belongs to the wind in which his multi-colored banners sway.

Blood-brother bonds of ephemeral magnitude;
A firm believer in someone else's Now.
Soul to veiled-soul, he plays at being true to all two souls can assent.

But in time's unfolding his facade unravels in a pale display of the once-bright shades of his profession.

I knew the chameleon well enough to ride the wind he rode.
He the champion of causes to love,
I, the searcher, who wishes he had known
That the chameleon sings loudly in the morning of all that's best and bright,
Only to become mute when day falls into night.

Christ's words in Mark 12:28-31 are convicting in their extensiveness. His use of heart, soul, mind and strength gets to the total person, which is exactly what we should expect from Him.

Modern Evangelicals are often guilty of not loving him with their minds, and every once in a while someone within the camp is willing to say so. Os Guinness, in Fit Bodies, Fat Minds, is just so willing. The book has its detractors, but Guinness does make points with which Evangelicals ought to wrestle.

Guinness' credibility on this score is enhanced by his work at The Trinity Forum. He shares his work there with the distinguished and talented David Aikman.

In an attempt to recover art, beauty, truth and the heart, having a sharp mind is a key element, and Guinness sees that quite clearly.

A new look.

Visitors to the site will notice many new things, including additional links and a comment feature.

One particular link, Gary Thomas is an interesting site to which i was introduced when my wife was reading Thomas' book Sacred Marriage. In that book, Thomas makes some great points about the covenant of marriage, the commitment involved and the value of doing the hard work of dying to oneself within the context of the marriage relationship. He mentions how easy it is to have contempt for other people, and he warns of the dangers of contempt for one's spouse _ which insinuates itself into the relationship with subtlety.

Thomas invites us to Have contempt for contempt. Wise words for all relationships.

Getting past the formulaic approach to life . . . realizing that so much of what passes for life falls short of touching the soul and really moving me . . . longing for something real and more than what i have been served for so long . . . leads me to the words of Christ.

i wonder if i have ever come close to what He describes there as Life to the full.

Fortunately, we can taste something of this life.

Do i long to taste of Him or have i learned all too well from my subculture that i should kill Desire?

Another quote, this time from the movie Braveheart.

Every man dies. Not every man really lives.