Silver Shores

I spent the first moments of the New Year driving down a snow covered hill, in a cozy lifted truck, with my best friends next to me. We had just finished scouting for the Northern Lights and looking at the stars from the tallest point in olympia. We were laughing about the fact that we were going to count down to the New Year while maneuvering our way through snow as we fought to stay awake. We asked ourself “how should we bring in the new year?” and well, our options were quite limited- so the conversation changed to “what music should we bring in the New Year with?”. I flipped through Cannons iPod and saw one of our favorite artists- John Mark McMillian. Perfect. The song Silver Shores has been one of my favorite songs for a solid chunk of this past year, so I thought it would be fitting to turn it up and worship along.

John Mark says this about why he wrote the song/what it is about:

“Silver Shore is my statement that I do not think the worlds the way it ought to be. And for all our technology and our high thinking and our intelligence, we still can’t conquer basic enemies or forces on our own. People still live and die, die of disease. You know, we can heal and sustain life, but in a lot of ways it’s still the wild wild west. We still live the way we always have, in a lot of ways- even though we tend to think we are more civilized, you know. But [C.S.] Lewis talks about this idea that because we all have this desire for something better, that it must point to a better place, and that this place must exist if the desire itself is there. And there has to be, if the concept exists, there has to be a reason that concept exists within us, and this desire for a better place. Silver shore is sort of my thoughts on that.”

Reflecting on that sentiment by John, I couldn’t have picked a better tune to ring in the New Year with. Depressing? Maybe. Confusing? Probably. Let’s just say I agree with John that “I do not think the worlds the way it ought to be. And for all our technology and our high thinking and our intelligence, we still can’t conquer basic enemies or forces on our own.” and that gives me the energy and longing for a perfect place that's called Heaven. If C.S. Lewis’ theory stands true, my desires for a perfect world, full of justice, mercy, and kindness, point to the fact that those desires come from a place of reality. Score! It’s my prayer that in this next year of life and in the years to come, that by the grace of God, our earth begins to mirror Heaven more and more- but, regardless of how that story unfolds, as a believer, I will continue to hold onto the hope of a perfect world and share that with others.

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity