Signposts to Nothing

I've decided I don't like the band Mumford and Sons very much anymore.  When I first heard them I was captivated by their use of lyrics to create imagery, but the more I've listened to them the more I've realise that their imagery is creating an illusion about, well, not much at all.  They hint at having insight into things and pointing to profound ideas, but very few of the songs actually do say much, other than what is already being said by other bands.

I've decided also that this can be found in people.  Kindness, charm, and mystery can draw us to people who appear to have answers to great things.  But, again, more often than not, they are merely signposts to nothing.

Such is our society.  I have spent many years in a world that creates an illusion that all is well, and that all knowledge can be found at the click of a button, but the more one consumes of that, the more one is sickened by it.  As it is merely a signpost to nothing.  Nothing of meaning, nothing of true depth, nothing that will change an ingrained addiction to whatever seeks our greatest attention.

I was reading this afternoon about a god called Io in the traditions of some of the first people who lived in New Zealand and it struck me again that there is an answer.  If one is purse this - the desire to know and understand the God who speaks, who hears and who longs to communicate with his creation - one will find something.  Something beyond what any human could fabricate.  Something that will change a person from the inside out; truly change them.

Today I found a signpost to the one who says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” and I remembered again that there is a being that can restore, redeem and change.  A being that loves and came and died and rose again so we can find something of meaning.  But we have taken the signposts that point to him down and replaced them with ones that create an illusion of him.  An illusion of love and kindness and respect and inner change.  An illusion that is far easier to deal with than the awful truth of a being who knows our name and loves us more than we will ever comprehend. 

If we can replace the being who is all-powerful and all-knowing and all-love with an illusion, we are free to turn our backs anytime we like - with a click of a button - on a knowledge that will change our hearts and draw us to love in return.

Love is painful.  It demands vulnerability and honesty.  And I fear what some may find if they are to see my heart.  A signpost to nothing is far easier to hide behind.

  

Quote found in Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)