Song Meanings: Light Amassing

You can stream and download this song at http://undertherose.bandcamp.com/track/light-amassing.

Lyrics

Stumbling blindly, never drinking deeply of the

Enriching, cleansing, healing Spring of Life

Lifetime bleeding, never reaching toward the ever

Forgiving hand you claim to hold in yours

Don’t just look forward to the eternal inheritance

For the deposit is already within you

Children of promise

From freedom to bondage

The struggle of history

We’d rather be enslaved to a system

And serving religion

Than living the mystery

And it’s killing me

Dark is passing, light amassing in the chosen

A world enchanted by this love divine

Release your fear, the time is here to walk in step

With the God who overcame the evil one

No worldly teacher gives you eternal significance

The Holy Spirit is already within you

I’ve tried living the curse of the Law

Such pride to think I could transcend the Fall

The fool rests in the wisdom of man

True faith rests in the power of God

Trust God or Trust Man?

Western culture places great value on knowledge, empiricism, and test scores but often neglects the application thereof. I think this problem sometimes exists in Christian spirituality. I certainly struggle with it.

It is easy to believe we must memorize the entire Bible in order to be spiritual. It is easy to believe we must rely on the writings of seminarians in order to be spiritual. It is easy to believe we must rely on our local Bible teachers for all wisdom, guidance, and life direction. There is great value in all these things. My life has certainly been enriched by Scripture, but at times, I have spent so much energy trying to memorize it that I was distracted from the fact that God is already inside me. My life has certainly been enriched by Christian writers and theologians, but they gleaned their knowledge from the same God who already lives inside me. I have been guided and encouraged by pastors of local churches, but they are instructed to equip me for Christian life and protect me from false doctrine, not to dictate my every decision.

But people want to put their hopes in human beings. We want to believe that spiritual leaders, heads of state, and American idols can tell us the meaning of life and lead us to our ultimate destination. But the truth is, as Christians, the ultimate destination is already inside us. The Bible says we can know God’s thoughts, that we actually have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 1–2), that we don’t need anyone to teach us (1 John 2:27). The Bible tells us not to put our hope in princes but in God (Ps. 146), who directs the hearts of kings like a channel directs water (Prov. 21:1). The Bible says God does not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Cor. 10:13).

I am not advocating the dissolution of church authority or the contradiction of pastoral teaching that closely follows Scripture. I am not saying Christians should defy civil authorities. I am simply saying that when a new situation or decision makes me fearful, I must say to myself, “God has empowered me to face every situation I will encounter in my life. He knows what I need before I ask. He has given me divine authority to navigate this world. Why would I give that authority to someone else?”

Every day, I must remember that God interacts with me not only as a holy being who will always be infinitely greater than me but also as a Father and Friend who guides me through the details of every situation. The time is here for me to embrace this life.

--Aaron