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It’s
a long way from Miami to L.A.
It’s
a longer way from yesterday to where I am today
It’s
a long way from my thoughts to what I’ll say
It’s
a long, long way from paradise to where I am today
All that’s in my head is in Your hands
It’s
a long way form the moon up to the Sun
It’s
a long road ahead of me, the road that I’ve begun
Stop
to think of all the time I’ve lost
Stop
to think of all the bridges that I’ve burned that must be crossed
Over,
over, over, take me over
I’ve
been poison
I’ve
been rain
I’ve
been fooled again
I’ve
seen ashes Shine like chrome
Someday I’ll see Home
I
can see the stars from way down here
But
I can’t fall asleep behind the wheel
It’s
a long way from the shadows in my cave
Up
to Your reality to watch the sunlight taking
Over,
over, taking over, take me over
I’ve
been poison
I’ve
been rain
I’ve
been fooled again
I’ve
seen ashes Shine like chrome
Someday I’ll see Home
All that’s in my head is in Your hands
Oh
Switchfoot, yet again describing my life “to a t.” I love everything about this song. From its pacing and sound to the
beautiful lyrics dripping with meaning from every word. It describes my life oh so well.
Our
life journey is “long.” There is so much
along the way. So often I feel like
Peter in The Lion, The Witch & The
Wardrobe when he surveys Narnia from the peak exclaiming, “It’s so far!”
with Mrs. Beaver answering, “It’s the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small?” To which Susan retorts, “Smaller.”
But
all the while I am reminded that “Behold, I am with you always, even to the
very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
All that’s in my head is in Your hands.
The
question remains, however, what is this epic journey to?
“up
to Your reality to watch the Sunlight taking over”
From
my end, it starts with recognizing the “shadows in my cave” – those dark
secrets that keep me from His pure innocence – whatever they may be. The realization that I’ve burned these
bridges that I need to get back to Him.
My selfishness, stubborn pride, disobedience, lies, lust,
rebellion. “I’ve been poison, I’ve been
rain, I’ve been fooled again.”
But
inherent in this song lies the HOPE that Jesus causes. The cry “over, take me over” is that plea for
RESTORATION – to leave this mere and bleak existence into a world filled with
light, love, and right relationships. In
a word, “paradise.”
Those
last few lines have started to answer the question, “what, or rather, to where
is this journey of which the song speaks?”
Allow me to delve in deeper.
I
mentioned restoration. That’s the beauty
of the lines “I’ve seen ashes Shine like chrome.” That’s what Jesus does – He takes our ashes
and makes them sing the song of LIGHT.
Light
is the predominant metaphor used here to describe the destination, the end of
the restoration. Home. In that vein, this song, has several
beautiful images I’d like to highlight.
It first mentions, “the moon up to the Sun,” which ties into the whole
God being like the Sun metaphor I just mentioned. We, like the moon, are mere reflections of
His light. Another appropriate image is
the song’s use of stars.
“I
can see the stars from way down here,” reminds me how these pinpricks of light
are like the small tidbits of God’s character we can see from our broken
earthly bodies. We learn about His character
of mercy, grace, love and beauty just as by looking
at the stars we, even in our limited state, can learn about the nature of the
material universe.
Which
brings me to the crux of all of this: SOMEDAY I’LL SEE HOME. That
is what the destination is.
I’ve
always cherished my earthly home, so my view of the metaphor isn’t too
warped. I’ve been blessed in that regard
to have a beautiful palace, it seems life, to return to for rejuvenation. And so much more than that, I have a loving
family who makes home a place of love, nourishment, safety, and peace.
While
home is a beautiful concept for me, for many it is not. So, I need to devote some time to painting a
picture of what home is meant to be and why it is so utterly alluring in the metaphorical and eternal
context.
Home
is a place of relationship. Right
relationship. Not the broken kind we see
evidenced all around us. Home should be,
as I described, a place that’s peaceful, safe, uplifting, and filled to the
brim with love.
One
of my absolute favorite parts in Garden State
is where the two of them are sitting in the bathtub and he tells her that when
he’s with her, he’s home. And it’s
beautiful, because through the story he’s discovered what home is. Before he had this warped view, as he tells
her in the pool, that home is just this shared concept that a bunch of people
are trying to get back to, but never really existed. And then he finds that home DOES exist and it means the people you love and share your
life with.
Home
is about right relationships with the people you love and share your life with.
I
can’t wait to go “up to Your reality to watch the Sunlight taking over.” Going Home.
Jesus Christ, God the Father, the Holy Spirit – the Trinity – invites me
into an everlasting relationship. One
filled with love and the sharing of life.
A true Home.
And
it’s such an “already but not yet” scenario.
Already I am redeemed by my declared dependency on Jesus, but I do not
yet see Him face to face. It’s like
diving in a dream. Or as Paul says, “For
now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face” (1
Corinthians 13:12).
Hello
to the world below
While
I’m watching the world spinning
This
night seems so unending
Well I’ll
follow
To a place
I know
That’s only
the beginning
Start over
after ending
-Lifehouse,
“The Beginning”
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