Do Sparrows Hope

 To be transparent, and forthright, this post didn't come from watching my fine feathered friends hanging out on the telephone wire.  It happened on my way to Springfield the other day.  My wife and I were travelling in our staid, very plaid Toyota van to Evangel College to see my grandson Elijah.  We'd just left Branson when I saw a sleek, low slung car in my rear view mirror.  It hadn't been there two minutes before, so I knew it was travelling somewhere close to supersonic.  It was coming so fast, I couldn't see it's hood badge, and when it went past us, I just sighed.  It was an early model Acura NSX, black, and well maintained.  I sighed because the NSX is one of my favorite cars.  I've wanted one since they first came out in 1990.  The first time I saw one was in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace.  It was perched atop a huge bank of progressive slots on the way to the buffet, and it never failed to catch my attention.  From that day on, I've longed to own one, but I knew I never would.  If you go online you can find some selling for $11,000 to $25,000.  That is a ton of money for this old man, and I can find much better things to do with that kind of money.  Still, it doesn't hurt to dream.  

That's what caused me to wonder if sparrows hope.  Not that I ever hoped for an Acura NSX, but I guess I've always dreamed of owning one.  What is the difference between hoping, wishing, and dreaming?  Are we the only species on earth who hope?  Do sparrows hang out on the telephone wire hoping a bug will fly by?  Do they wish for more bugs?  Do they dream about bugs?  From everything I can tell, we seem to be the only beings on our planet who hope.  I know that my dog dreams, but I don't think she hopes.  Hope is something formidable that can overcome fear, or override caution.  Hope drives athletes, pushing them past their physical abilities.  Hope moves doctors to heal, artists to create, musicians to make music, and every form of aspiration we are capable of exhibiting.  Hope causes us to rise above adversity, even when there is no plausible reason for us to rise.

Hope is able to make time of no importance.  Wishing is empty, and dreaming is about as useless as wishing.  BUT, Hope...moves even the faint of heart to imagine what it could be to hold that for which we long for.  Love and hope are often found walking hand in hand.  It is easy to love what we long for, and long for what we love. I can't help but wonder if a male sparrow spends it's life hoping for that one little girl sparrow it saw four years ago.  Yet, I've seen young men hope for the romance of the young woman they met while in High School.  Little girls used to put things into their 'hope' chests for the day they got married.  Time passes by in a cruel race, but hope can make its passing meaningless once we have what we hoped for.  

Once again, I come to the conclusion that human beings are a marvelous creation, far more valuable than sparrows.  We are more than our passions, and more than our base desires, and more than our hunger.  Hope is a gift from God to take us beyond ourselves, to see eternity, and to make a path of joy through this present vale.  

While I may never own an Acura NSX, I've had so much more than I could have ever hoped for.  

FAITH

I've been watching the commercial space program with keen interest as visionaries like Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos shape the future of space flight.  Space flight is unlike any form of transportation mankind has embarked upon in our long rise from the dust. I don't know why it terrifies us more than any other means of getting from point A to point B, but it does.  I guess I don't fear space travel because I was born during the birth of the space age.  I was born in 1955 and have seen the explosive journey to space through eyes of childhood wonder, and a growing sense of awe.  Seeing rocket boosters fly to the upper reaches of the stratosphere and return to land on wisps of fire and smoke is something I used to dream of as I watched old 'B' Sci Fi movies as a child.  At 64 years of age, I wonder how much more progress I will get to see.  I would love to see humans land on Mars before I pass this vale. 
You see, I'm a devout Christian who isn't afraid of science.  A matter of fact I embrace science as a reflection of the beauty of the Creator.  I never missed a shuttle launch, and as a child I watched every rocket launch of the Gemini, and Apollo Programs.  Then we stopped.  It was stupid!  So many of the good technological things we enjoy today were developed because of the space programs.  We lost faith in ourselves, and our technical prowess.  I know what caused us to lose faith, and it wasn't to do with rockets blowing up or near disasters in space. 
I'm going to shamelessly put a plug in for a trilogy I've written about the future in space, and you can read it chapter by chapter on my blog RaderWriter.  At the same time I want to speak about faith.  I want to specifically talk about Space X and their awesome push toward their dream.  What they are doing requires not only immense technical skill, vast financial resources, but it requires a vast faith in the vision that drives them. 
I know many of the scientists, and engineers would disagree with me about the source of their faith, but it is a gift of God.  We are a species who do more than hope!  Hope is great, but it doesn't launch rockets.  Knowledge is great, but it doesn't vision rockets.  Skill is great, but it doesn't propel rockets.  Faith does all that and more.  My marriage of faith and science is unique to me.  I had to create it at the young age of 13 as I contemplated using Schroedinger's wave law equation to discover the mass of a Neutrino.  At 13 I didn't even know what the wave law equation was.  My Uncle Jerry, a graduate of MIT used it in his Doctorate Paper to propose finding oil deep within the earth.  I just figured it would be a good tool to use.  I wanted to go to New Mexico State University on a weekend science symposium.  To go, you had to write a science paper and my paper was on Neutrinos.  I studied them till I was blue in the face, wrote my paper suggesting that we could place detectors in the Antarctic.  It was only eight pages long, and poorly typewritten.  When I got selected to go I was in shock.  To this day whenever I see the word Neutrino I have to stop and read the article.  Why am I saying all of this?
Because I believe that there is a huge disconnect between science and faith that doesn't need to exist.  It's the same disconnect I see happening as we become more angry at one another because of race, sex, or gender.  Religions separate us, cultures push us away from one another, and even issues of life separate us.  I believe in life, and I believe in each person's liberty.  These things shouldn't separate us, but they do.  I ache with sorrow because of the separation.  We can be so much more together than we are right now.  Sadly, I don't see it getting any better before it gets worse.  My world view is framed by a book called the Bible.  It is more than a history, more than a guidebook, it is a revelation of wonder. 
I've often wondered how the world is going to react when they discover microbes on our nearest neighbor Mars.  It would not surprise me.  Why?  Because I know our planet has been slammed by huge space rocks that sent much of our planet heaving into space.  I know they will find microbes just like those on earth, because they came from earth.  It is the same way I knew that a Neutrino had mass at 13 years old.  Some things are intuitive, and that too is a gift from God. 
I wish with all of my heart that I could visit Mars and look upon the soil of a distant neighbor. I also wish I had a physical image of a Neutrino instead of the indicators of its passing.  The same is true of my desire to see God face to face.  I long to see more than just the indicators of His passing.  I see His hand in the simple things just as surely as my Uncle could see oil as he measured sound waves passing through the earth. Finding microbial life on Mars doesn't shake my faith in God any more than finding microbes on our planet.  We're an arrogant species, filled with ourselves, and unable to even deal with one another let alone, God. 
I am optimistic, but realistic at the same time.  I want to see the day when we finally break the barriers that divide us as peoples.  I'm one of the privileged white males that seem to be at the center of every bad thing going on today.  In every generation, as mankind is ready to step beyond the limits of their frail existence and explore new possibilities we also demonstrate the need to blame others for our woeful shortsightedness.  I pray we'll live beyond this time in history where the fabric of our existence is being threatened.  As a Christian I know how this will end, but as a child of God I want a better ending.  There is a growing sorrow about what I see happening around me.  I'm old enough to let go of this life should I be threatened.  On the other hand, I have children, and grandchildren whom I wish to see live in peace and hope.  As long as the strident voices of anger and hate are given media attention this world is in peril.  This isn't a future I wish to see.  I want to  see Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos duke it out peacefully and develop the means to escape this world.  I hope to see the day when all of mankind realizes they are the DNA of God instead of the garbage of hate.  Our species must have peace with itself if we are to go beyond ourselves.  I know this thought violates the revelations of our Bible, but like Abraham I am begging God to hold back the judgement prophesied against us.  I am willing to grow old and die to see Him, while at the same time asking that no one experience His wrath for our wanton desire to kill each other. 
As I write this, I have my front door open and I'm watching the little sparrows combing through the dew laden grass for something to eat.  I don't know if they have wars, nor do I know if they have hope or faith.  Do they live angrily?  Do they do battle with each other?  Are we better being than they are?  Dear God in heaven, I don't know.  I hope we are.  Sadly, my passion for science is tempered by the knowledge that with every new scientific discovery, we discover a more terrifying way to destroy each other.  Science isn't the panacea for our worst inclinations.  Love is!!!   Still I hope for the joy of science while being realistic about what I've seen us do with it.  I hope we can move away from the precipice of prejudice, greed, and fear that envelopes us at this point in life.  Is my faith enough to say LOVE? Do sparrows love?  The Apostle Paul when describing the summation of his existence in Christ, wrote that three things abide.  That means they will go on beyond us.  Those three things are; Faith, hope, and love.  And, the greatest of these is love.

SUFFERING WITH OTHERS

As a handyman, I'm often called out to inspect damage, and give estimates for fixing the situation.  Most of the time, I'm satisfied that what I tell the prospective customer is valid and affordable.  I tend to lean more toward the affordable solution than one that is costly.  I know what it is like to have something break down or stop working without having the funds to fix it.  So, I tend to be just a little sensitive to people's financial needs.  Sometimes I will have a customer tell me that money is not an issue, but you know it is. 
There are times I go out to look at a job and find myself wishing I'd never gone out to look at it.  Such was the case for me this last week.  I was asked to go make a bid for putting a deck up around a double wide modular home way out in the country.  The couple had bought the home and were in the process of getting it moved when the husband died from a massive heart attack.  AS anyone knows who's gone through the death of a loved one, it can take well over a year before you get your feet back on the ground.  Such was the case with this customer.  When I drove out to the location of the home, I discovered that the two halves of the home were never fully joined together and that the ridge cap on the roof was never installed.  In simple terms, the home had sat open to the elements for over a year.  The movers had brought over the decking and materials only to throw them in heaps. 
I grew up in the mobile home industry from the time I was six or seven years old, and I can tell you that double-wides left open to the elements rarely go back together well.  As I looked at the home in shambles, my heart broke for the woman who'd called me out to look at it.   I had nothing but bad news to give her, and she didn't have a husband to help her bear the brunt of the bad news.  Even putting up the deck would be a disaster, and cost much more than I'd 'primed' her for before I went out. 
So, you might be wondering what if anything this has to do with the Sparrow's Perch and the peace of God.  Let me tell you.
The peace of God is ours even in the midst of tragedy.  As this week has unfolded, I've watched with great sorrow the slow and methodical approach of hurricane Florence.  As I write this, I know it will slam North Carolina like a freight train.  It will be a miracle if no one is killed, and an even greater miracle if there is no great property damage.  Just the predicted rain amounts alone are catastrophic.  Sometime this week, someone will be faced with death and destruction.  What do you say to console, or offer comfort?  What do you do? 
This brought the situation with my customer into even greater focus.  I'm on point with the customer.  They are part of my faith family, and someone I want to bless.  Sadly, I don't have the means to bless them.  I will continue to worship with her, and will shake her hand every time she comes to church, but I'll also know that I could not do anything to change her situation.  It is in God's hands. 
And that is the purpose of this blog.  Being in God's hands means that we can face the discouragements and the joys with the same trust in God.  There is an old Hebrew tradition called two pockets.  In one pocket you carry a note that says: "The Universe was created for me."  In the other is the statement; "I am but dust."  It is the essence of finding peace in God.  I know that God's peace is found both in the joys and the sorrows of this life. 
There is another Hebrew story that says King Solomon was tasked to provide a statement that would be applicable in all situations of life.  Solomon had his craftsman forge a ring with the inscription "and this too shall pass away."  Whether we are overcome with great joy, giddy happiness, pride from great achievements, or just the fruits of our labors, we know that it will pass amidst the inevitability of death, sickness, disaster, and even failure.  What is true of these things is that the terrors that beset us by night will soon fade and pass away into greater joy, happiness, and yes, peace. 
The sparrows have already begun to sing outside in my front yard.  The majestic silver maple that had been their perch for many years was cut down last week because the ants had devoured it from the inside out.  They have now taken up residence in the smaller pin oak on the corner of my lot.  They didn't lose faith in God because the maple was gone, no, they moved on to another tree.  I felt sorry for them when I had to cut the tree down, but soon realized that they weren't destroyed by the situation. 
I grieved all last week for my beloved sister in the Lord because I knew that I didn't have a solution for her.  I wanted to make it better for her, but it isn't in my power to do so.  Just the materials alone are beyond my financial ability to repair her home.  Could she sue the people who left her home open to the elements?  I don't know.  Would that even help?   What is the answer?  I know I'm not.  I grieve with her, and feel compassion for her.  I was ready to try and get the men of our fellowship to help me put the house right, but it would be a process that would take weeks.  I cried when I told her how much I thought it would cost to fix the home.  She doesn't have it.  What will be the story after Florence hits North Carolina?  Will someone like me have to tell a customer that their home of many years is destroyed beyond repair.  Do we miss the entire point to this? 
At least you are alive to be told the bad news.  The good news is that this too shall pass. 

A WEEK OF TECHNOLOGICAL TRIUMPHS

For those who won't read earlier blogs, the reason I call this blog the Sparrow's Perch, is because of Psalm 84:3 and Psalm 91. I can imagine the Psalmist going to the Tabernacle, and wishing he could flit in and out of the Holy Place like the sparrows. The tender reference to being under HIS wing, and the thought of God as a refuge, ring out from the Psalms. So, it is when I sit up here in my office. The sparrows, pigeons, and crows don't usually wake up until I'm almost ready to leave. It is mid-fall, and the sun doesn't break over the horizon until almost 7:30. During the height of the summer, the birds are carrying on by at least 5:30 in the morning. I miss their chatter, and bathing in the puddles on the flat roof just outside my window. I've often thought about putting a bird bath out there, but they have a lake, Ha :) just across the street. It wouldn't be for them as much as for me.

This week in Science has been an exciting time. The Mars Rover Curiosity found a cool unexpected rock, and Felix Baumgartner became the first man to freefall faster than the speed of sound. These feats are amazing! These technological feats make it is easy for us 'human beings' to think we have it all going on. We THINK, and that makes us special. Yet, in many ways, we have sold our birthright for a pot of boiled meat. We no longer depend upon the Lord for our daily bread. We have our brains, and our hands to feed ourselves. Who needs God? It is why we spend billions of dollars going to a planet we know is hostile to us, hoping for that one glimpse of a microbe that would prove God isn't the creator of the universe. It is why we spend billions of dollars looking out to the Stars hoping to find the one conclusive piece of evidence that will prove once and for all that WE are right, and God is wrong. Those who deny God will be able to point out how “knowledge” has shred the last vestige of religion, and dissuade even the most ardent believer. The purist scientist will finally be able to declare that we were an inevitable process of the universe, formed of a primordial stew that is possible anywhere within any trillion of star systems in the millions of galaxies that populate our universe. (LONG SENTENCE ON PURPOSE TO PROVE HOW KNOWLEDGE IS WONDERFUL)

Freed from the chains of religion, what is man capable of?

NOTHING MORE than he has done throughout the history of his miserable existence outside of God.

So, while an amazing piece of technology creeps along on a distant planet, and a man leaps from the edge of space, the sparrows come to my window sill and amuse me. They know their provider is good, and so do I. They know the one who brings rain and withholds it all at the same time. They aren't concerned with the scientific process, because knowing is only knowing. It doesn't change anything. As someone who has always had a love of science, science fiction, and astronomy, I am always brokenhearted at the 'reason' for discovery. What a shame. So, let me offer this to those who might be sitting on the fence of doubt and faith. Faith costs you nothing, doubt steals everything. In the end, when this tent is rolled up and placed into the soil from which it came, my spirit will explore those worlds that loom just beyond my touch. Eternity will not be spent in useless nothingness. For even as science is beginning to discover, this universe is made up of stuff we can't see or explain. We know it is there, we think we know how it should behave, but every day we realize we had it wrong. We spend so much time, and energy exploring the universe around us, but so little time growing the eternal love that is within us.  Is eternity one of those things we want to get wrong?

I guess it depends upon your perspective. A little sparrow has just cocked his head and danced away.  His perspective is the one I like.