“Mean, And Mean, And Meaning”

Walking on the water starts with stepping from the boat;
We’re not even at the beach, the lake is still remote;
We have yet to leave the house, and drive six thousand miles
To the forest we go through – which takes us quite a while.

First we cross the prairie, miles and miles of boring time;
Cross the mountain ranges, viewing landscape quite sublime;
Still the BC coastline is some distance we will find –
Walking on the water is still farthest from our mind.

Is it? Sometimes fear wells up at thought of given task;
Sometimes we get panicky this side of mountains vast,
Only to discover what we fear did not transpire;
Focused on that end-point we walked through the wind and fire –

After which life easy was – no water-walking need;
Fear and fact quite separate are when Jesus takes the lead,
Says to us, “Just focus on the work that lies at hand;
Don’t be spooked by fears of things which lie in far-off land.

Three things Hebrews carried in their Ark on desert sand;
Symbols of their learning went ahead to Promise Land;
One, a set of laws – ten words, pneumonics carved in stone –
Is the one most people know, but they were not alone.

Second was a little jar of “manna” – daily bread,
Which they gathered up each day, by which they all were fed;
It would rot if it were kept, they learned to live each day
Trusting there’d be more for them as they went on their way.

Third was rod of leadership from Aaron, Moses bro;
Placed it was with other rods to see which one would grow
Flowers and some fruit by morn – God’s sign of leadership,
Symbolizing, “Let it go – God leads as He sees fit”.

So, it’s number two today – “Give us our daily bread”
We are learning, far from beach, with miles of road ahead;
Lesson? Ask what are the tasks before me on this day?
“Give me bread for life today”, are words we learn to pray.

Why? Because when you rise up above the mean and mean,
Threat in you, or jealousy is more what will be seen;
Be prepared to be cut off (how folks attack today),
Walking in the desert tests our faith, just like the waves.

We must learn to dis-engage from feelings which rise up;
Focus on the task at hand, with daily bread enough;
Death’s the threat that’s used to keep us in a life of mean;
Christ just laughed and said, “Three days – in Me it will be seen –

“Fear of death (or being cut off) is worst the world can do;
Life at base eternal is, to yield I’d be a fool;
In the long-view quality is what God wants for all;
Watch – I’ll carry on with life and walk right through your wall”.

Three days later, there He was, “I’m back”, as we would say;
That’s how life is lived if you want quality today;
Each one has a measure (mostly small) of faith to start,
I’ll stretch that here on the land before we boats embark.

Walk the walk each day you live as dead to worldly ways;
Rise up to the Promised Land alive to Word which says,
“Welcome to my world, my friend, I died that you might see,
There’s more to life than mean and mean, and life beyond a tree.

Your faith’s elastic, it will stretch, a bit more every day;
Each challenge which we face will render dividends which pay
Off handsomely as we go forth in life of quality,
And find our lives enriched and fed in ways we could not see.

For seeing’s great – God gave us eyes and intuition sharp,
But “righteousness by faith is lived” for which one must embark
Upon a desert trip each day, discover things unseen
Are firm as rock beneath our feet – that’s what “by faith” I mean.

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