Eugene Peterson has always been a personal hero of mine. He has often been criticized by "Bible Scholars" for his life altering work, The Message Bible. When asked about the critics Eugene responded, “I grew up in a culture where everything in the Bible was literal. Then I discovered metaphor. Words don’t always mean what they say…. I had to enter the world of the words in order to understand what was being said,” he explained. “If we understand how language works, it cannot be translated literally. It can be accurate, but it not literal.”
Some of the more powerful imagery for me of the Scriptures comes from Eugene's attempt at diving into the world of words. One passage that has rung in my life is John 1:14.
The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.
I have always been struck by the thought of Jesus moving into "the neighborhood." What does that entail exactly? He was known by others. He was recognized as a part of a family group who had earned a reputation. He had a vocation and participated in the daily life of his city. Relationships were formed and cultivated through all the different roles he had. He forged his own identity apart from his parents.
As a 36 year old husband, parent, and business owner I want to embrace all these situations. Surrounded by a culture that values the hot and now approach it is tough to stay content and not think that moving away from the problems of my small-town rural community will solve my woes. This has been a crucial value I am trying to add to my list of essentials for true life. Circumstances will change and evolve for better or worse. Today, I am choosing to value life as it is and add to the environment I am in. I cannot control the events of the day, but I can change how I view them.
Friends, this is essential for actually thriving in any environment. Someone once told "the grass isn't greener on the other side...it's green where you water it." Today, take care of your environment. Make today better because you are alive. See the location where you are not as an obstacle but an opportunity. Life doesn't suck where you are. Perhaps how you're living may be the problem.