Sunday 20 April 2008

The unforced rhythms of grace

Matthew 11 from The Message

28-30"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a beautiful picture Shaun. It makes me want to sing 'Teach me to Dance to the beat of Your Heart.'

Not all life is a jolly jig - some dances take longer, but God's heartbeat is there all the same. Very inspiring!

Roy said...

I keep coming back at the moment to the phrase ’the unforced rhythms of grace' and I was trying to think of an image. Thank you Shaun for posting one.

The metaphors we use for describing concepts change the concepts and the way we think about them.

The concept of 'listening' each day for the rhythm of grace in our lives really helps me. In the space of day it helps me more I think than the metaphor of a journey. It is, I guess for me, the metaphor of 'dancing with God' which sounds so much more freeing and creative.

Perhaps others have metaphors of the Christian life which help them that they could share
?

Shaun Perryman said...

I was very intrigued by what Sue said in her comment on 'small is beautiful' about communicating/exploring our feelings through photographs as I'm getting into photography again. So I looked up Judy Weiser the author of the article and found this passage within her website

"It is clear that people take and keep pictures because of what the scene or moment is about emotionally, rather than what it is just simply of visually. Because of this, exploring "below the surface" of a photo's simple visual contents will quickly demonstrate that the camera's lens has focused inward into the photographer at least as much as it has outward onto the subject matter being pointed at...

This brought home to me how much of God I experience by looking at his creation, the wow factor in all sorts of spectacular and everyday things. I do think that some of the photographs I take do represent a feeling in me as much as the image I have taken. The one that I've put with this post reminds me of how continuous God is in his provision for creation to continue it's rhythm of life and it's His grace that allows me to do the same.

Judy Weiser is a psychologist, art therapist, consultant, trainer, and author interested in the nonverbal and visual aspects of communication and behaviour. If you'd like to read more about her ideas then you can find more information here http://www.phototherapy-centre.com/home.htm