True North

Doesn't it sometimes feel like living the Christian life takes place in Backwards Land? Or Upside Down World? We hear things like, "So the last shall be first, and the first last"1, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.....Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth"2, "...strength is made perfect in weakness"3, and "he who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal"4 or Christian expressions like get down on your knees to be lifted up, God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called, and so on. It's enough to make you dizzy or, at least, very confused.

The Christian life is full of ironies and chiastic structures (yes, I just used that phrase - thank you, Beth Moore!). Maybe it's because in the beginning when we chose to try to be like God and deny our rightful place in creation, we created this bizarre world, turning it on its head. The result of our sin put us and this world into a tailspin, one from which we're still reeling. I've heard being buried in an avalanche creates an effect of not knowing whether you're up or down. Society keeps telling us we're up when maybe we've been head down all along and digging deeper away from the surface. Our own directional sense is warped, and whenever we rely on ourselves, we choose wrong. We need a constant compass to keep us headed in the right direction, and thankfully we were given one. Christ is our only True North.

We lost our bearings, following our own mind
We left conviction behind
Fear of the future, springing from sins of the past
Hiding the hope that would last
How did we ever wander so far and
where do we go from here?
How will we know where it is?

True North
There's a strong steady light that is guiding us home
True North
In the lingering night we were never alone
We need an absolute compass now more than ever before
True north, True north

Wonders of nature speak to us all of Your plan
Why would we run from Your hand
Laws of the earth, just like the laws of the heart
Only begin where You are
How did we ever wander so far and where do we go from here?
How will we find it again?

Turning back to where You meet us
We will follow where You lead us
There is Truth inside Your dwelling
We have come to face 5

True North
There's a strong steady light that is guiding us home
True North
In the lingering night we were never alone
We need an absolute compass now more than ever before
True north, True north

~ True North by Twila Paris

1. Matthew 20:16 NASB
2. Matthew 5:3, 5 NIV
3. II Corinthians 12:9 KJB
4. John 12:25 NASB
5. Copyright/Label: Label: Sparrow - you can listen to samples of her True North album here.

By the way, in my research on this topic, I came across a book that looks like it's all about this ironic, backwards living as a Christian. It's called LifeOvers: Upside-Down Ways to Become More Like Jesus.