More Than a Name

Why blog? That one's pretty typical. Organizing thoughts, expression through writing, sharing things in the hope that others will find them useful, etc. Thanks to both Josh Matthews (check out his blog, "honestly") and Scott Jacobs (The Blog of Scott) for the inspiration!

What about the name? "Beautiful Letdown" is a song by my favorite band, Switchfoot. Not only are they amazing musicians, lead singer Jon Foreman is one of the best poets/lyricists alive.

"It was a beautiful letdown, the day I knew
That all the riches this world had to offer me Would never do."

The overriding theme of the song is pretty clearly one of worldly discontent, that there's more to life than what's on the surface. It's one that pops up frequently in their songs, and one that resonates deep within me.

The song also suggests another letdown, one that I think is the most beautiful of all - the fact that Christ is nothing like what we expected. The Israelites had been waiting for centuries for their king to appear in glory and power. When He came, He came as a humble man, loving and serving, living among the weak and the poor. The pharisees missed Him completely because compared to what they were expecting, He wasn't a Messiah; He was a letdown. What happened?! How could they have missed Him? "For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matt. 9:13 They considered themselves righteous already; they were blind to their need. But for the weak, the sinners, the imperfect, Christ was recognized as the most beautiful thing that has ever happened.

"We are a beautiful letdown, painfully uncool.
The church of the dropouts, the losers,
The sinners, the failures, and the fools."

That's all that I am and all I could ever hope to be - a Beautiful Letdown.