The leaves of this Japanese maple in our front drive are not “useful” to me but I love beholding them.

In the church we are in the habit of asking, “What difference does this make for me on Monday morning?” or “How can I make use of this in my day-to-day life?”

We need to interrogate this disposition and these questions. All may not be well in the spaces where these questions emerge.

The contemplation of God and of humanity in the person of Jesus Christ is good for you and for the world. It does not need to lead to anything “practical.” Loitering with the person of Jesus is beneficial all by itself.

To behold Jesus, to hear his words, and attend to his actions in the gospels are enough.

Yes, taking a walk or riding a bike is good for your health but if you are only walking or riding a bike to aid your well-being, if you’re not enjoying these acts of being in and of themselves, you are missing out on the best part.

Trust leaders who invite you simply to ponder the Word made flesh, who beckon you to contemplate God and humanity by and in Jesus Christ without a to-do list.

No applications. No “what nows?”

What you can learn from good teachers is that God is present and at work in you, in the creation, and in your circumstances (that’s a very good thing); that God is the active agent in the world’s salvation; and that your gracious participation in his words and acts begins with dwelling with him in stillness of heart and mind.

Sometimes we need to trust that the sheer meditation on God that John (and the other gospel witnesses) grant us is enough; there does not have to be a “So what?” or a “What now?”

Just ponder the mystery. 

The shoulders of some Christians are weighted down with expectations and tasks that preachers put on them 52 weekends a year, year in and year out, when we end sermons with “this is what *you* need to go do” rather than “see what God has done” and “see what God is doing.”

There can be an unhealthy fixation on “results” that we need to recognize and address, in this and in many areas of our lives. The church is not a factory. People are not widgets. 

“Is this useful?” or “what difference does it make? *can* deny the legitimacy of wasting time in the wondrous contemplation of God and humanity that the person of Jesus affords us.

Nothing could be more relative to life and how to live it than contemplation of the person who is both God and human.

Slow down. Ponder. God is at work in you and in the world around you. God promises to make of you and the world what only he can make.