Layers

It seems I build my life in layers. I’m looking out the window at two of mine in the parking lot: a Jeep and a bike rack. Both define a little of who I am, I suppose, and both nag, in our society of images, that I keep up with what it means to tote a bike rack on the back of an SUV.

The SUV connotes several things. First, that I am a rugged outdoorsman whose demanding lifestyle requires a demandable car. Yeah. I could be a wildlife photographer and need to drive through impassable terrain that I could not possibly traverse with a Hyundai or Ford Fiesta. It might mean that I am a diehard off-road enthusiast, my life existing as a non-stop mudding adventure. Um-hmm. The self-conscious dude in the equally appropriate Cadillac SUV at the stoplight next to me might think I live on a dirt road that winds through overgrown forest with the tendency to morph into watery muck after a hard rain. Nope, nope and nope. And the one time I took my Jeep off of the road, to turn around, I was afraid of scratching the paint.

The bike rack brings a whole different set of expectations. I am a Lance Armstrong wanna-be, have a hidden desire to ride in a Tour de Something, or actually might, just might, intentionally tote my bike to ride it somewhere, because the road across town is better than the one in front of my house.

These are two of scores of ‘layers’ in my life. Consider a hand full of cards in a spoons game. The more of them I have in my hand, the farther I am from winning and yes, grabbing the spoon.

What is the point in our colossal game of spoons? I think it is to grab hold of the Eternal Spoon, God. It is to grab hold of Life and dance wildly. If my hand is full of these layers, these cards carelessly fumbling around in these uncoordinated hands, picking up spoons and dancing with them is not an option.

In 2 Samuel 6, David danced naked before God. He wasn’t carrying a bike rack, or listening to an i-Pod or wearing Nike Air sneakers. He was just naked. Raw. In the buff. He didn’t try to manage a hand of cards, or an elaborate portfolio or an all-star athlete image. He wanted to know and be known, to praise Jehovah with his full self.

The layers are just so addictive! The more I have surrounding my true heart, the less time I have to look at what my soul has become, or is becoming. It is simply easier to fix a boat or home theatre system or tile a bathroom than it is to sit down and have a long, intimate visit with God and my soul.

Layers. Call them distractions, barriers, even separation. Stripped bare, of all that this delusional world has to offer, how about following in David's footsteps? Not dancing naked in a perverted way, but in a desire to know and be fully known by our Creator. We were created to be naked, right?

What do you say to letting go of a layer? Dance. Dance wild and naked in honor of the One who loves your soul.