Feel the future
Occasionally, we experience events that do not make immediate sense – that do not fit into our framework of understanding. It might be big out-of-our-control world events that change how we live, or it might be a personal relationship that no longer works as it used to. The initial feelings stirred by such events are usually confusion, anger, and fear. And the way many of us deal with uncomfortable feelings is to escape them or at least attempt to. To be rational is a favorite way of escape for many. We hope that avoiding the feelings and simply thinking through the situation clearly will result in a logical solution.
Our rationality has an important place, but it is precisely because such experiences do not fit into our current structures of interpretation that we cannot resolve them with rationality alone. New meaning cannot be created with old modes of thinking. We have to go beyond the comfort of what worked before, beyond the certainty of what we knew before, and have the courage to feel deeper than the initial confusion that accompanied the unexpected event. (Paul spoke about a “peace that surpasses understanding” in the epistle to the Philippians.)
But how do we find new meaning in such unchartered waters? Some understand God as the One who orchestrates events and determines their meaning. In such a world, our only contribution is discovering the pre-determined meaning of these events. We have no creative part to play. But there is a better way of understanding the relationship between ourselves, God, and the meaning of our life events.
Finding new meaning amid overwhelming experiences is not simply a matter of discovering something that already exists but is a creative process. Instead of imagining a God who forces meaning upon each event, can we recognize that God offers many possibilities of meaning in every event? A God who values our creativity asks us to participate in the process of bringing about something novel in our world. The creation of meaning then becomes a relational co-creative movement in which we are invited to interpret, to shape, and to participate in producing novel values. In this dance, God lures us towards the beauty that could be; we respond as we find ourselves drawn towards some possibilities more than others. This act of preference, desire, interpretation, and of reconciling the present reality with a possible future is the process of producing new meaning.
Interpretation, creativity, novelty, and error are inseparably intertwined. Consequently, it takes courage to create, for creativity involves the possibility of failure. To interpret, we have to overcome our fear of error, for accessing possibilities cannot be done with logic alone; it requires an openness to the future. Desire is how we feel the future.
Jesus told a story to illustrate this attitude of openness to possibility.
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. (Matt. 23:14-18)
Two of the servants take risks and invest the money, while the third hides the money because he fears losing it.
“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? vs.26
Jesus’ understanding of God – of how God does things (the kingdom of heaven) – reveals a God who values your creativity more than your ability to avoid error. This God praises those who risk and entrusts them with more.
Creativity is an act of interpretation. Interpretation is reconciling what is actual with what is possible. The creative process is taking place continually to some degree in how we experience our world, how we relate to others, and how we read texts. Becoming more aware of how we attend to possibilities will cultivate an openness to a broader range of possibilities and, consequently, a wider range of novel interpretations. How ironic that many religious institutions seem to value the safety of established interpretations more than creative new interpretations. Which of the servants in Jesus’ story do they emulate more?
But more importantly, can you recognize your part in this creative, pulsating, incarnational reality we are all part of? Divine ideas and possibilities are seeking realization in your life. The “Word became flesh” (John 1:14) in Jesus to illustrate what God desires for our flesh – an opportunity for God to live and move and have their being through us. But this is not something God accomplishes by themselves, neither do we do it by ourselves. Divine ideas become actual values in our world through a relational co-creative movement.
When we face uncertain events, when our experiences become overwhelming, when relationships change … know that despite the uncertainty and fear, God is opening new possibilities of beauty and goodness. Allow yourself to feel more deeply, to feel your Abba’s desire for something truly novel and creative to take shape in this situation.
Invite
Andre and Mary-Anne are available to speak at your event. They have a reputation for opening up new possibilities of meaning and helping people to ask the questions that really matter. Face to face conversation is such a powerful way to engage new ideas.
Get into contact and lets explore what is possible..
Just wanted to thank both of you for all the thoughtful and beautiful posts you have shared over the past 10 + or so Years I have been following you!❤️
Thank you Robert!
Hi Andre and Mary Anne, I’m not sure how to even begin to say how much your Christ-centred perspectives have changed my life for the best! Knowing that God desires and believes in me has made a profound difference in the life that I am privileged to live, move, and have being. My understanding of co-creating with the Father, I must admit is wonderfully new to my experience, but sometimes the people who are closest to me are very confrontational towards me in regards to the spiritual freedom I have always known. Recently, I found myself in a moment with my partner, who said that she wanted to converse with me about our spiritual differences, but became very accusatory and verbally abusive in her language towards me. At the end, I was speechless and felt like the interaction was more like a crucifixion than and conversation. Consequently, I felt as though I had been verbally murdered and dead inside. (Please forgive the extreme words of description). In reading your article, I am feeling very confused as to how to make sense of this relational reality and what heavenly possibilities could flow out from such conflict.
Hi James. Firstly, thank you for sharing. It is exactly those initial feelings of pain that we should not dismiss, but open ourselves to possibilities beyond. It’s easy to get caught up in thoughts of resentment. To recognize those thoughts is a first step, to then recognize that they are not the absolute truth or worth your complete attention is the next step. In such situations, I just ask Abba to help me feel and see what He feels. A practice of silence – of moving away from thoughts and creating space for alternative possibilities, can be very helpful as well. See here:https://youtu.be/D-PtSl2E5QI?si=JP47Wrf6Hmd0AEd4
This is so beautiful Andre. I am reading it, slowly, over and over again and I feel like I am seeing so much, that I cannot yet put into words, but it’s real and exciting. Thank you.
I love that feeling of discovering something for which I don’t have words yet.
thanks for sharing! i have been working on being more vulnerable & open. drawing more from imagination and being willing to show people my art even though my skills still have a long way to go. at times i feel exposed, but then i remember to rest in god’s love. as i expose more of my “weakness,” i am realizing god’s love and goodness on another level & it feels like it’s my first time really seeing it. sometimes i have to slow down & that’s okay. god grows us in patience, gentleness and compassion.
What a beautiful process – excited with you.
This is such a beautiful, timely message for me, as I am right this minute engaged in co-creating with God and shaping my life now and in the future. I was just reminded recently, by some very lovely ladies in my women’s grace group, that I don’t have to struggle with decisions or search for God’s will and/or purpose for my life (as if they’re hidden from me!). They WANT me to have the desires of my heart, the things THEY have given me a passion for. They care about what I want! I simply need to choose my path boldly, with confidence, and God will go with me on it. I’ve been like that 3rd servant, keeping my talents and abilities in one spot, in a hole if you will, carefully guarded and sparingly used for fear that they aren’t going to be enough. No more! I’m going for it!
Wow – love it Melissa. What a significant discovery that God can draw us through our desires in the direction he knows will be beneficial for us.
Thank you for such a timely message that spoke directly to my spirit. I keep hearing God say, “I’m doing a new thing.” I keep having visions and hearing Him in very real ways where I see/hear bits and pieces of the kingdom of heaven functioning on earth, but He needs us to co-create, take courage to step outside of what we have known, and establish a new way, a new thing, with Him. My heart is full of so many ideas and my head keeps telling me why they will fail. I’m just feeling stuck and I needed to read this message. Thank you and lots of love to you and MaryAnne! We all miss you and hope to be reunited soon ❤️
Hi Leanna. May those ideas blossom! Oh how we would love to be with you all again.
Hi Andre. Just a few thoughts here….Ever since I first heard you speak on utube I began to experience the opportunities for novelty in my life. Many. many changes came along with the complexities that came with them that challenged my way of understanding life’s events and relationships. But all along I was undergirded with the beckoning and flow of love that like the lamp into my feet guided my way..Now today I experience This movement of life’s enfolding events with open eyes to its possibilities in all of my encounters . There are many invites into future possibilities that come with them.
Thank you and Mary Ann.
Lynn Pereira
So good Lynn. As Whitehead said: The teleology of the cosmos is directed towards beauty. So glad these possibilities have a trajectory – the gravity of love.