Life can often feel like a constant fleeing to many incorrect things. We live in a whirlwind of uncertainties: neither tomorrow nor the next five minutes are accessible to our complete control. A secular world is a constant culture of fear; life itself is in some degree an immediate threat. The mysterious is an essential part of existence; and whether or not it is attached to something dreadful, it always creates fear.
In a world where uncertainties swirl like flies, a sure foundation is necessary for survival and sanity. Not everyone thinks so, however. There are some who believe that mystery and uncertainty somehow negate any foundation at all (as if we could know instability without first knowing stability). How they can make such a leap in logic is uncertain, but the point here is that they reflect an attitude of the world that comes in various shapes and colors but still as one fundamental assumption: "Flee...to your [own] mountain."
In the fumbling and terrifying dark, every man and woman seeks a light, a clarity and certainty, even if that certainty is to claim that there is no light to seek. The child of God knows its foundation: the infinite-personal God: "In the Lord I put my trust." It is, therefore, nonsense to "flee...to your [own] mountain." What mountain? There is no other rock, save our God. If we flee from that, what are we to do? Either go back or drown, for all other ground is merely sinking sand.
-Jon Vowell (c) 2010
