Directions vs. Instructions

I keep getting the two confused Lord. I know the difference: Instructions are part a lesson to teach me how to assemble my life whereas directions are pointers that are marked to get me from one location to another.

The problem, I think, is that sometime I need directions on how to follow the instructions and other times I need instructions on how to understand the directions given to me. Ask any parent who has assemble Christmas toys for their kids or anyone who has tried to load new software on to a computer – they understand what I’m talking about.

It’s difficult then to know when the directions end and the instructions begin and visa versa. Even Webster crosses the line, inappropriately (in my humble opinion) interchanging the two words: To me it seems obvious Lord, that one indicates a “point to point” outline resulting in arrival at a specific destination while the other suggests a teaching event with a completed task as the result.

In the RUT world, I think there’s maybe an easier way to help distinguish between the two. Help me Adonai, as I try to clarify my understanding: As I Trek my RUT, I have a specific destination in mind, and to get to that destination, I have to look for the footprints stamped in place by others ahead of me on the route. These markers are there to help those coming along keep on the correct path. Stepping outside the metaphor for a minute, these “Trek Signs” are typically either friendly advice that says “this is how I made it this far”, or they could be warnings, “don’t try this method, it doesn’t work,” or it could be words of encouragement, “If you do this and go here, you’ll get where you want to be.

Instructions, as I understand them Master, are more like the apparel I put on or take off during my journey. They protect me and / or “stylize” the Trek making up part of the character of who I am (or will become) along the way. Instructions might also be the conversations I have with those trekking along side me, or they could be the words of an “historical marker” posted for me to review. None of these necessarily help me arrive at my destination, but they can inspire me to continue and help me improve the conditions of my Trek as I continue forward.

Regardless Master, I need both instruction and direction within my RUTted existence. One without the other causes me to be uninspired or confused and will make the trek seem obstructed with boredom, or uncertainty; or both. That’s when I start to get bogged down; when my Repetitive Unchanging Trajectory (RUT) looses it value and adventure. Suddenly I find myself in a Periodic (or Permanent) Interrupted Trajectory (PIT) and that’s when I lose hope and faith – in me, in You; in the dreams we share.

What is the point of this Lord? Why do I need to distinguish between the two? Because if I mistake Instruction for Direction; I might unintentionally focus on developing my character with no destination in mind. If I think that my Direction is my Instruction, I might become disenchanted and then easily distracted to leave my dream path. I need to understand both the purpose of “who” I am (instruction), as well as the result of “where” I am (direction) in order to continue discovering adventure in the routine of my life.

OK, so now that we’ve got that straight, I only then need to discover what the best source of both instruction and direction would be along the Trek. I would think that a consistent and reliable source would be best. The source would have to be easily understood and the delineation between instruction and direction would have to be clear. Now in what source would all of these attributes be present and easily accessible… what source indeed Lord?

RUT ON!

Mark A. Cornelius

RUT's Inside Me?

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are

with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the

house of the LORD Forever. Psalm 23


This entry will be short and sweet Lord, just like the Psalm above. And more on target, I’m staring at verse 3 and the “paths of righteousness”. There’s more than one? Well that’s a twist: A path of righteousness, what exactly is that? I always thought that Your WAY was The Path of righteousness, and who would argue? But apparently, from Your Path, extends other paths? Roads out into the world for me to follow?

Except then the map gets a little fuzzy; turns out there are two kinds of righteousness! One is very well defined and easy to understand, that’s the tsedâqâh (tsed-aw-kaw') kind of righteousness. I’m thinking this is the righteousness that commandments are made of; handed down, passed on by example—Visible and Tangible to humankind as a whole. It’s full of law and structure and gavel pounding. It’s the righteousness that wears robes and seems to grow because I keep finding loop holes and it doesn’t want to let me redefine it so it must be constantly clarified to me by others who demonstrate more tsedâqâ than I. Powerful stuff, but this is not the Psalm 23 righteousness.

Psalm 23 speaks of tsedeq (tseh'-dek) which is more… abstract. It talks to me inside more than is given to me from outside. It speaks in a quiet, sometimes pestering, sometimes soothing (and infrequently thunderous) voice depending on my reception to its suggestions…

“Mark, you know better, it you do that you’ll…”

“Mark, that’s right, you’re definitely on track…”

“Mark, did you really do that?”

“Mark, good job.”

And isn’t it interesting that righteousness would even have a voice and that I could choose or not choose to listen to it? Some would call it their “conscience”, but where does it come from… experience? What about when I’ve had good experiences, but choose the opposite direction? Why does the voice nag me to choose honor when my experiences have been just the opposite?

The choices are all paths; some righteous (good, honorable, pure), some unrighteous. And that voice? That’s where the Psalm comes in… “You lead me in the paths of righteousness”. And not just me, anyone who would choose to listen to the voice; watch the walk; experience the trek. Why, that might even look like a RUT to some.

But what’s so interesting about this RUT and this Psalm is that it isn’t a choice of paths in front of me; not a tsedâqâh kind of path - trying to keep me and all others who walk it on the straight and narrow for our own good. The Psalm 23 tsedeq path is INSIDE of me. It’s a path I walk either totally alone or with one other only. That one other… is You Jesus; the only one who has ever trekked the tsedeq path from beginning to end with perfect execution (sic) and resurrection.

So as I Trek through the valley of the shadow of death, I have a choice and it has nothing to do with whether or not I choose to Trek that portion of that path—the past choices I’ve made guarantee I’ll pay a visit to the Shadow Spot. My choice is whether I do a “solo” or seek a traveling Companion. Only One can come, only One will do—not just on this path, but on the others as well. That’s the thing about You as my Companion Lord. Like no other; You’re in it for the long haul—through the green pastures and still waters of my spirit or the hellish places my enemies might invite my soul to encounter.

And because You’re walking with the Inner me; all directions I travel—each path I take—becomes one of tsedeq. On this Trek my cup runs over with oil undeserved, but very much appreciated—anyone who would wish me harm has to just watch in frustration and envy. I travel this RUT with amazed confidence because I shouldn’t even be allowed to take one step along its invisible route; yet, it shines clearly in front of me, goodness and mercy following me all the days of my life. Where is it leading me, Lord? No need to answer… I’ve even been given a Map to read. Unlike the inner journey, The Map is very visible, tangible; very easy to read. The road sign I see on The Map at this moment points in the direction of “Psalm 23 verse 6 as my ultimate destination—see You at Your place!

RUT On!

Mark A. Cornelius

Believement

I know beyond a shadow of any doubt Lord that You exist. I know, without question, that I am Your child and that You Love me, despite my failed attempts at loving You. I know, Master, that there was a larger plan than that I, or any person, could conceive and that Your were (are) the architect of that plan – it involves an eternity in which someway, I’m involved. I know all I have to do is to, admit I’m incapable of correcting my faults on my own, ask for Your love, strive to love You as You Love me… MEAN all of this in the deepest part of me instead of just speaking the words… and I’ll be a part of that eternal paradise.

But I didn’t always believe this way. Not even close. Something changed in me. I have difficulty understanding what switch “switched” in me that I now believe differently. I do know how it happened though.

Adonai, I won’t bore You with the details of my Trek before and after meeting You. Those are well shared moments in history that we cherish together, but I am intrigued by the process of how one’s faith grows in the midst doubt. How can I suddenly be another person from the one I was going to be? That conversion – seems both spiritual and psychological. I know You’re in charge of the spiritual side, but what promoted a drive in me to chase You and then to one day find that chase to have become a desirable lifestyle?

There’s a big phrase that Learning Theory types (of people) use to describe a frame of mind that is changed from one position to another. They call it “cognitive dissonance” - the brain has to somehow justify an action that does not fit the normal or regular behavior of the individual. OK, I’ll swallow that, but there’s something else at work here.

As I read Paul’s letter to the Romans, I’m told that I’m saved by my faith. That happens immediately at the point I accept You as Lord and suddenly my salvation assures me of a heavenly address sometime in the future - Sweet. But that doesn’t let me off the hook. I’m also told that I have a Trek, a time here still on this planet where I have to improve. That might be 5 seconds, maybe 50 more years. “Improve”, now what’s that mean? I can’t do anything on my own well, that’s been established. I do things better if I do them the way You ask me to, which means I’ve got to ask first, “How?”… OK, then once I hear You telling “How”, I do.

But that has taken (has taken, will take) practice. I still try to do it my way, I still fight internally with the desire I desire most – to live Your way, love Your way, last Your way. What’s the roadblock? I want it or I don’t – I do, so, if I’m “saved”, the switch has been switched, shouldn’t I just naturally be the perfect model of humanity – what You were, when You were here? What keeps it from working that way?

There’s lots of words in the Bible and other places that explain at length the battle between my will and Your’s. I know my will struggles to be its own master because I don’t always recognize – yes, I confess – Your will as superior, but I think there came a time, at least for me, when I gained something more, an undeniable acceptance; that whether I was trying to avoid You or not – if I went my way, I was (am) disobeying a God who is present… EVER present as in really spiritually tangible. I realized that You are not some distant observer who checks in once in a while. There’s a whole lot that can be discussed about that revelation, but the thing I’m getting at here Adonai (yes, I know it’s about time I got to the point) is that something beyond my faith, some spark beyond the acceptance of You as God, made that discovery possible.

What? When? How?

I’m thinking now (watch out!) that it wasn’t a moment when this happened but by a long term, deliberate plan – Your plan to be exact. I think there was something “installed” in me at my Acceptance Time (conversion), that allowed me to Trek forward to this other revelationary “spark time” and beyond. I now have a name for it:

Believement -noun. The act or process of searching for supporting evidence in order to justify one’s belief system. [Origin: 2007 Mark A. Cornelius; Believe + -ment ]

And going off the deep end – as long as I’m making up words, I might as well charge ahead boldly – I think all of humankind develops a Believement which supports any belief. That’s why I see people firmly planting their feet on a premise that seems astoundingly absurd to me and yet, to them, it seems perfectly righteous. I’m sure they think the same way about me Jehovah and that’s where this RUTted dialogue has led… why is my Believement better than their Believement? By that I’m not asking why my supporting evidence is better than their supporting evidence, What I’m asking is… if we all are hell bent on building a belief system based on our individual desire to follow a specific RUT path, what good is any belief? It’s only based on our concern to prove it correct by any means possible!

But there is an answer, isn’t there Lord… and it doesn’t come from my Believement, but… from YOUR Believement.. Because before I could believe, You believed in me. Before any of us had an opinion, You conceptualized “opinion” and spoke it into existence. And then, You supported it. All of it. You gave it freedom to exist and then You supplied irrefutable evidence in the form of a Creation so that everything and every one that has existed and will exist, can develop their own Believement . And Your incredible Love even allows for the freedom of those, whose love You desperately desire, to chose another belief and the Believement to support it. Tragically sad, but so beautiful in that it is allowed by Your Believement. I wonder if anyone else’s Believement, even my own which supports You, will ever be able to justify a belief in a Love Relationship that profound? I wonder whose Believement would dare to argue with Yours?

RUT ON!

Mark A. Cornelius

RUT's In A Word?

I’m so pathetically spoiled. No, not because I live in the greatest and wealthiest country the world has ever known; and not because I’ve been raised in middle class splendor. It’s not because of technology and the advancements of convenience which make my life so mobile, so slippery smooth-split-second synchronous; and not even due to the opportunities provided by Your grace Lord. All these things are “spoiling material” for sure, but that’s not why, really, I’m spoiled. The real reason for my pampered claim is simpler: in a word; the “word”.

Where did this incredible invention—graphic representation of thought—originate? Was it a grunt here, a burp there, suddenly transformed into pictures on stone? An elementary scratching that some primitive person decided looked like a sound? How did that representation of spoken language come to be a cipher in somebody’s imagination that could then be catalogued and repeated for others to recognize. What a mind-boggling advancement: Accident, or a calculated process? Inspired and imparted from… where or… whom?

The ancient Hebrews realized the miracle of the written word; so much so that they revered it as the very voice of… You. They would touch the scroll of the Holy Scripture with a finger and then place that finger to their lips, acknowledging the sweetness of the text itself—its tangible taste upon their hearts and minds; thus the psalmist captured it… with words… Taste and see that the Lord is good. Why would something as ordinary as phrases and sentences—no matter how poetic-cause such reverence, such delight?

The Hebrews cherished this thing I take for granted in ways I’m just starting to grasp. To them it became a living thing, a persona of such great power and importance that the “w” became “W” and it was no longer to be spoken as “a word”, but The Word. So powerful became The Word, that when spoken, a world and a universe to support it would come into existence. Matter created from spoken command? Dare we dream so large? You did.

That’s the coincidental secret few unravel—the word was “The Word” before Your people, were “Your Chosen”. And the persona…You… were so much a part of The Word, that the two were… are… inseparable. And so, when we screwed up a perfectly good paradise, You—who already knew what was, what is and what is to be—already had the solution prepared; an impossible solution for an impossible dilemma. You would send The Word to become tangible—as a human; a walking, talking, living, dying and resurrecting experience—to save us from being cut off totally from the gift of Your love.

Yet, as a habit, many don’t begin “word” with a capital. I confess, it’s hard for me to recognize You with the daily words that I casually absorb and dispense in my routine. Do I fully comprehend and appreciate this imperial gift I’ve been given—the ability to see and to hear and to breathe in and out and even to pen words that others can understand too? These markings are culture’s blood; society’s spiritual bridge (to be crossed or blockaded); They are Your intentional hand held out to pull us back from the edge of self destruction.

“What’s he gabbing about?” someone’s asking out there.

I’m beginning to realize Creator, just how treasure filled, is each word I read, write and regurgitate. Still, in this time and place, where media rules, I’m thinking there’s a danger of me becoming (more) lazy; living in this “Cliff Note” world, I find myself uncomfortably comfortable letting others digest my words, letting them form my opinions and conclusions, instead of absorbing the text first hand.

And that’s what I see happening not just to me, but to everyone surrounding me… we read in patterned pathways, RUTs of articulation that are so entrenched in our everyday existence, we dismiss their value and significance. No matter the language, whether English, German, Chinese, Hebrew or Arabic, we are forgetting that just a few short years ago, this privilege of reading and writing were exclusive to the aristocracy, guarded as a governing tool, then fought for and won as a public freedom… is it now so worthless, that I’m willing to cast it aside?

I’m trying Lord, really I am, to appreciate Your desire to connect to us… to me, utilizing the deepest metaphysical bonding agent ever conceived. I’m trying to slow down enough: filtering out the minutia; so that I can seek within each word—The Word, and then within its text, discover Your purpose for me.

I peer at the whispered echoes coursing through ciphered veins;
Its map helping complete my Trek to You
And as I navigate its system, I understand,
With out The Word, I cannot exist
With out The Word, I cannot touch You

I don’t know Adonai, my words are so weak, I know You’re capable of all things—I’m pretty sure You understand even my ranting, but does any of this make sense to anyone else? Does it mean anything for me to type this message out as I do; not just for communication with You, but to associate—word for word with others? Does scribing out this document bring me… us closer in some way to The Word—to You?


RUT On!

Mark A. Cornelius