wind

"the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

"and when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby, it helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky." (somewhere out there, an american tail)

there is something inexplicably marvelous about wind. the simple motion of the air stirs in our hearts a wonder that is not entirely quantifiable. i am always filled with longing and am even little melancholy when i hear the wind blowing through the grass and the trees. perhaps it is indeed the uncontrollable and unknowable nature of wind. it can bring gentle relief in the sweltering heat and it can tear apart buildings and destroy lives and both of these with neither warning nor apology. interestingly, for all it's potential and all of our technology, wind energy remains a poor choice for alternative "green" energy because of its sheer unreliability. the wind blows where it will and no one can know where it goes or from where it comes.

follow the wind to its source and you will meet countless people and places who have been moved by the wind. the air that touches your life has blown through the lives of people you will never know. yet you have this one thing in common, neither of you can control the path of the wind nor direct it's power. at this point it would be appropriate to begin a discussion on the unity of humanity and the unity of our spirit but the truth is that, regardless of how linked we may be as humans, it does not changes our position. we are all powerless and fallen, no measure of unity can lift us above this place.

"so is everyone who is born of the spirit..."

yet, as we are touched and moved by eternally moving air across lands and seas, so also we who are born of Him are moved by an unrelenting Spirit who blows through lives at His own will. we are all separated by space and society but we have this in common, none can control the path of the Spirit nor direct His power. yet we are linked by His existence and His presence in our lives.

"but one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." (1 cor 12:11).