where God dwells among men

I went in search of the place
where God dwells among men
I searched in buildings of stone and brick and mortar
I searched among the well-spoken, well-polished and finely attired
I had heard He could be found there on Sundays

I went in search of God
in gardens like where He was said to have once walked with a man and woman ever so long ago
I searched among the beauty — the roses, the leaf-framed and brilliant sky
I searched among the shadowy passages and cobbled walkways of fragrant serenity
for I noticed that the smallest of creatures still find refuge there

I went in search of love
among those said to be alive with the Heartbeat of the One who hung upon a cross for me
I searched in hope that all around me would not remain gray, cold, thorn-filled
I searched desperately for I knew not where else I could search
if even these people offered no love to me

Where is that place
rumored, imitated, sought, so seldom found
where God dwells among men?

Is He in the churches
among the religious
bribed by half-hearted gestures
to confine Himself to stuffy buildings and small minds
for a couple hours a week?

Is He to be found walking in the cool of the evening
silent
searching amongst all the beauty He created for one like Him
a special breathed-upon creation
to share in it all?

Is He to be found when all the magic words are said?

But I did not find Him there

Where is that place
where God dwells among men?
I searched among your family, your friends, your church
I searched and I searched
and I am so weary

I went in search of the place
where God dwells among men
but then I began to wonder
is God searching, too
searching for a place, a heart after His, a temple of a different kind where He may dwell?

I went in search of God
in search of love
and at last found the One
for whom my soul longed
and I held Him fast and did not let Him go

Will He find you?

Or does He only find those who search for Him
and search for Him
and search for Him
and search for Him
until they have passed by all the others
until they find Him
until they will never let Him go?

"But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

"For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him."
-Deuteronomy 4:29-35

there are no more prophets

Once upon a time
God spoke to man

He told Adam not to eat of the tree in the garden
He told Abraham to lay his son upon the altar
He told Noah to build an ark
He told the Israelites to repent, turn, follow Him, hear His Voice, obey

It seems amazing, really
to think that things were once so
seeing how very different they are now
imagine hearing the Voice of God
like they did

But what if you didn't have to imagine?

What if He still spoke?
What if He still expected His people to hear?
What if He still required of His people that they obey?

What if you are missing it?
What if you are missing Him?

What if He forbid you but one thing you simply could not understand?
What if He asked you to lay your dreams upon the altar to be bound and burned?
What if He told you to spend your days doing that which all others deemed crazy and foolish?
What if He spoke to you?
Would He speak to you directly?
Would He speak to you through a prophet?
Would He only speak to you through a book?
Would He tell you what you expect He would say?
Or something to harden your heart like those Isaiah was sent to?

The Pharisees were well-versed in Scripture
yet they rejected and crucified the living God
the long-awaited Messiah
The rich young ruler loved and obeyed the written law
yet he refused the authority of and walked away from the loving, breathing, speaking LORD
the Savior come to set him free
You are good and obedient and wise in your own eyes . . .
Are you any different?

"No more prophets in the land?" the old man said
and wept
he had gone to a better place
a place where God's Voice was heard by all
but he wept for those he had left behind
those who would never believe in the God he knew
because they would never hear the Voice he loved so

"Silence!" the people cried
and one by one
the prophets were crucified
along with any person who heard the Voice of the Lord their God

There was a time
when God spoke to you

Like Adam, He forbid you something you could not understand
like Abraham, He asked you to sacrifice your dreams
like Noah, He asked you to forsake your reputation and simply choose obedience
like Israel, He spoke to you and expected you to hear and obey

It would seem unbelievable, I am sure
to think that things would ever become so
seeing how very different they were then
hearing the Voice of God
like they did
and obeying or disobeying
but knowing
that He had spoken

Imagine a day
when those who claim to know and follow and love God
the very God of Adam and Abraham and Noah and Israel
when those who profess to be redeemed and cleansed by the Messiah
would call every prophet evil
the act of hearing the Voice of Jehovah and speaking His Words "works of darkness" (Eph. 5)
would say that God can no longer speak
would despise, lie about, shun and slay all who say that they hear Him

But you don't have to imagine

"No more prophets in the land?" the woman said
even she had left
and gone to a new land
a land where God's Voice was welcome and beloved
but even now, she did not weep for those she had left behind
those who would not believe in the God she knew
because they hated the Voice she loved so

"Silence!" you pled
and with that one word
our friendship was forever dead
along with my hope for you

But remember
remember
when the days grow dark
when you draw close to the end of your path
when all is truly silent
and you long for a Voice in the darkness
remember
that there was a time
when God spoke to you

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin purged.”

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
“Make the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”

Then I said, “Lord, how long?”
And He answered:

“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant,
The houses are without a man,
The land is utterly desolate,
The LORD has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
But yet a tenth will be in it,
And will return and be for consuming,
As a terebinth tree or as an oak,
Whose stump remains when it is cut down.
So the holy seed shall be its stump.”

severence

And day fell
and night came
it all felt the same
one after another they passed me by

Dawn and dusk
once held hope, peace
but not anymore
not anymore

And so I walked away

"Why is it you no longer join the masses?"
they asked
but I just kept walking

"Why is it you no longer join us to pray, to sing, to fellowship?"
I heard their voices behind me, fading in the distance
but I just kept walking

I was in search of something else

"Why is it you do not follow our god anymore?"
they prodded as I passed them by
but I had to keep walking
I had to keep walking
and the truth was
I never did follow their god

Dawn brightened
dusk faded
but all seemed shadowed
I could not find what I was looking for

"Come back!"
they shouted
but I closed my eyes
covered my ears
waited until all was silent
and then kept going

My feet hurt
my knees were bruised, scraped and bleeding
my eyes sore from straining to see in the darkness
my hands were bleeding, too
my heart was numb, shattered
but I had to go on

No one had ever taken this path
no one had ever really found what I seek
without dying
I had been told
but that was a small price to pay
compared to the pain I felt

I know that I am close

And love drives me on
away from your religion of smooth talk and shiny crosses
away from your god
away from all that you represent

Love, carry me when I am weak
Love, quell the fears that arise and make me brave
Love, bind me to the altar when I want to run back to the safety of their timid, hollow beliefs
Love, You traveled this path before me
now lead me on
lead me upon that path which took Your life
lead me to die fully
that You might live through me, within me
lead me to the cross
I am dead already
I am empty, bleeding, broken, and without love
and I want life