I'm sure that almost everyone of us received that most ubiquitous of modern Christmas gifts; the GIFT CARD. I only got one this year, and what a wonderful gift it was! Little did I know that it would be more than a simple gift, but it would be used to fulfill a divine appointment. I know people give gift cards because they THINK they are safer than cash, but actually they aren't, as proven by a recent apprehension of a porch pirate who had numerous gift cards in his wallet at his arrest. Still, they are something more than just sticking cash in a card and mailing it off.
The day after Christmas I took my card down to our nearest home improvement store in the hopes of buying a tool. Yep, that's what I do. Nope, I couldn't find anything that appealed to me. I walked around the store for at least an hour, but every time I reached for something I couldn't make myself buy it. So, I decided to ask the fetching Mrs. Bragg if she wanted to go to Branson, Missouri to eat at my favorite burger joint, and shop at one of our favorite stores. She said that would be great because she wanted to go to the big bookstore in town and look for a book she'd heard about on the radio. (She didn't know that I'd already ordered it online.) So, off we went. Nothing spectacularly eventful, no words from Holy Spirit saying; "GO TO BRANSON! I have a divine appointment for you!" We were just going to fill our bellies, and spend a few dollars.
When we were about halfway there, one of Glenda's co-workers called and said that they'd just transported her husband to the hospital in Branson for a Cath on his heart. Her co-worker also explained that her husband would be transferred to the hospital in Springfield the next day. I WASN'T PRIVY TO THIS INFORMATION TILL LATER. Glenda and I went to a couple of places to shop and had a great hamburger. It was dark now, and being 64 years old, with aging vision, I don't like to travel the road from Branson to Harrison at night due to all the deer. I can't see them quick enough to react. Still, Glenda wanted to go to the bookstore, so I obliged even though I'd already bought her the book she was wanting. She didn't know that, and I was disappointed that it wouldn't be a surprise. After about ten minutes of searching, she found it. At that point I told her I'd already bought it. How was I to know a secular bookstore would have a truly inspiring commentary on the book of Genesis? Then she turned to me and said she wanted to buy a bible for her co-worker to read while staying at the hospital. (Sounded good to me.) She found the perfect bible, went up front and found out it was half price. YAY!!!!! This was turning out to be an awesome night. By this time I knew I was going to be going to the hospital to visit her co-worker. I've only met her a couple of times, so being the introvert that I am, I am as nervous as a cat...well you know. Anyway, we go up to the room and find her husband sitting up, but looking frightened. I look over at the heart monitor and can tell he's in A-Fib. I know what it looks like because I sometimes go into A-Fib and have since I was a young man. They'd just told him before we'd come in the door that if he didn't come out of A-Fib that they were going to have to shock him. (You know the paddle things where everyone yells 'clear!' I don't care who you are, just the thought of someone juicing you with electricity makes your skin crawl.
We visit and make niceties, and soon it's time to go. Glenda asks the husband if she can pray for him. He says yes and we're off to the races. This is why I believe my fetching bride works in a hospital in the first place. Not only does she care about people, but she is able to be Holy Spirit's vessel for touching people's lives when they need Him the most.
After we pray, we quickly depart and head home. As we are about to get back to town Glenda's friend texts her to let her know that after we left, her husband's A-Fib stopped and he was able to relax. They wouldn't have to jolt him. Which is exactly what Glenda prayed for.
Often times we find God moving through us when we didn't even expect it. Like Moses tending his father-in-law's sheep, we can meet God at times when we least expect Him. A trip to the store, a restaurant, or even to another town can be an adventure of faith. Sometimes we want God to speak to us audibly before we step out the door, but He's just glad we stepped out the door. Humble, even common everyday occurrences can be the springboard for divine appointments. The signs were there for me to read all day. Everything pointed to something happening beyond myself including the inability to spend the money I'd received, the desire to travel to another town to eat, and most of all the desire to do what my wife wanted instead of what I wanted. If Glenda hadn't wanted that book, we probably wouldn't have gone at all. She'd worked all day, and really didn't feel like going. She had no deep spiritual plan for the evening, but God did.
This is how God takes care of us. This is how He shows us we are more valuable than sparrows. Yes, He cares for the sparrows, but he cares more for us. He saw a scared woman and her husband in a hospital room contemplating a bleak future and spoke peace into the situation through people who din't even know He was going to use them for that. HOW COOL IS THAT? Like the song says; If his eye is on the sparrow, I KNOW his eye is on me.
Sunday, December 29, 2019
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Peace On Earth
Merry Christmas
This is the first time in my memory that my wife and I have spent Christmas alone without any of the kids, or my mother and father to enjoy it with. Being a bonafide introvert, I'm not affected by being alone, however I know my wife would be happy with a houseful of kids and grandkids. To me it is another day. There is a certain amount of sadness about not being able to see the grandkids open their presents, and to some degree I miss the sound of my kids voices in the house. As I write this, my lovely bride is getting a well deserved rest. We both still work, and she works at the hospital, so I don't mind letting her sleep away. To kind of add to the absence of the Christmas spirit, we don't have snow on the ground, and it is unseasonably warm.
Outside, the sky is just beginning to turn a soft deep blue, and I can hear dogs barking down the street. There isn't the sound of one car anywhere within earshot of my home. I don't have any sparrows in the yard, so everything is peaceful. It is as God means it to be. Peaceful. I know it isn't that way all over the world, which makes me feel sad. For just one day, I would love to know that there wasn't fighting, or killing going on anywhere on this planet. Just one day where men had goodwill toward one another. What a joy it would be to experience one day where everyone set aside their hatred, their greed, and their politics.
In Luke 2 verse 14 when the angels proclaim the birth of Jesus, we are given the words that have been the core of the Christmas message "Peace on earth, and goodwill toward men." Don't get me wrong, I know the angels were talking about us having peace with God. The infant savior was the promise of a final and lasting way for man to be at peace with his maker. Different translations give their proclamation different meanings, but the one I like most is "Peace toward men of good will." God's peace is extended toward those who have good will toward one another. Sadly we seem to be further away from that peace than at any time I can remember. I am not hopeful for a peaceful solution. Even my little sparrows fight with one another for a morsel of food. Maybe this comes with being an old man? I don't know. Maybe you get weary of knowing that your grandchildren will be caught up in some future conflict over something that some wicked man concocted in their imagination. The greatest gift I could get this Christmas is the declaration that no one died today at the hand of someone else, or that all little children awoke to the glee of finding presents under a tree.
So to anyone who may stumble upon this blog, may God's peace find you, and may you enjoy the calm before the storm of bright paper, empty boxes, and dashed hopes. Somewhere in that excitement there will be peace that all is well with you and your family. Someday, all men will enjoy the peace of God. Then again, I am old, and I am just one man among billions. I'll lay my head down some night and never awaken again to this angry world. At least then, I will sleep in peace.
This is the first time in my memory that my wife and I have spent Christmas alone without any of the kids, or my mother and father to enjoy it with. Being a bonafide introvert, I'm not affected by being alone, however I know my wife would be happy with a houseful of kids and grandkids. To me it is another day. There is a certain amount of sadness about not being able to see the grandkids open their presents, and to some degree I miss the sound of my kids voices in the house. As I write this, my lovely bride is getting a well deserved rest. We both still work, and she works at the hospital, so I don't mind letting her sleep away. To kind of add to the absence of the Christmas spirit, we don't have snow on the ground, and it is unseasonably warm.
Outside, the sky is just beginning to turn a soft deep blue, and I can hear dogs barking down the street. There isn't the sound of one car anywhere within earshot of my home. I don't have any sparrows in the yard, so everything is peaceful. It is as God means it to be. Peaceful. I know it isn't that way all over the world, which makes me feel sad. For just one day, I would love to know that there wasn't fighting, or killing going on anywhere on this planet. Just one day where men had goodwill toward one another. What a joy it would be to experience one day where everyone set aside their hatred, their greed, and their politics.
In Luke 2 verse 14 when the angels proclaim the birth of Jesus, we are given the words that have been the core of the Christmas message "Peace on earth, and goodwill toward men." Don't get me wrong, I know the angels were talking about us having peace with God. The infant savior was the promise of a final and lasting way for man to be at peace with his maker. Different translations give their proclamation different meanings, but the one I like most is "Peace toward men of good will." God's peace is extended toward those who have good will toward one another. Sadly we seem to be further away from that peace than at any time I can remember. I am not hopeful for a peaceful solution. Even my little sparrows fight with one another for a morsel of food. Maybe this comes with being an old man? I don't know. Maybe you get weary of knowing that your grandchildren will be caught up in some future conflict over something that some wicked man concocted in their imagination. The greatest gift I could get this Christmas is the declaration that no one died today at the hand of someone else, or that all little children awoke to the glee of finding presents under a tree.
So to anyone who may stumble upon this blog, may God's peace find you, and may you enjoy the calm before the storm of bright paper, empty boxes, and dashed hopes. Somewhere in that excitement there will be peace that all is well with you and your family. Someday, all men will enjoy the peace of God. Then again, I am old, and I am just one man among billions. I'll lay my head down some night and never awaken again to this angry world. At least then, I will sleep in peace.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
WILL THERE BE SPARROWS IN HEAVEN
As a handyman, I often get into theological discussions with my customers in large part due to the fact that I'm very open about my faith. Some customers are of like faith as me, and others well...let's just say they tolerate me. This last week I had a whimsical discussion with a customer that I do a lot of work for. We'll call him Jim. Because we are both over sixty, we found ourselves quickly discussing what heaven was going to be like. I was telling him about all the people in my life who've passed away and how I longed to see them again. Jim smiled and told me that in the church he goes to, they have a couple of ladies who've declared that if their dogs won't be in heaven, they don't want to be there. Jim suddenly got a serious look on his face as asked me if I thought dogs would be in heaven.
OKAY, in my nearly 65 years on this earth, that is the first time someone has asked me if dogs would be in heaven.
I don't know. I can conjecture about it, but I don't know. Will our beloved pets be raised from the dead? Will heaven have all new marvelous creatures for us to befriend? These are questions I don't have answers for. Will there be sparrows in heaven? Personally, I don't think there will be, but I also know people for whom the thought of heaven without pets would cause them to break out in tears.
I actually think it speaks to the wonderful gift of love that God has placed within us. His breath is in us, and it causes us to love just like He loves. We can express our love to something that can't communicate it back. Then again, if the animals on this planet are an expression of God's creative spirit, wouldn't it make sense for them to be replicated in heaven? What intrigues me is how much we get attached to animals who are unable to communicate with us, and what that says about our capacity to love. It isn't trite or silly that a couple of sweet ladies would desire that their beloved pets join them in heaven.
So, for now, as this Holiday season is fast coming upon us, I want to believe that everything the Father has created is redeemable and repeatable. I want to believe that there will be beautiful creatures beyond my imagination, as well as familiar little sparrows.
Will there be sparrows in heaven? I hope so.
OKAY, in my nearly 65 years on this earth, that is the first time someone has asked me if dogs would be in heaven.
I don't know. I can conjecture about it, but I don't know. Will our beloved pets be raised from the dead? Will heaven have all new marvelous creatures for us to befriend? These are questions I don't have answers for. Will there be sparrows in heaven? Personally, I don't think there will be, but I also know people for whom the thought of heaven without pets would cause them to break out in tears.
I actually think it speaks to the wonderful gift of love that God has placed within us. His breath is in us, and it causes us to love just like He loves. We can express our love to something that can't communicate it back. Then again, if the animals on this planet are an expression of God's creative spirit, wouldn't it make sense for them to be replicated in heaven? What intrigues me is how much we get attached to animals who are unable to communicate with us, and what that says about our capacity to love. It isn't trite or silly that a couple of sweet ladies would desire that their beloved pets join them in heaven.
So, for now, as this Holiday season is fast coming upon us, I want to believe that everything the Father has created is redeemable and repeatable. I want to believe that there will be beautiful creatures beyond my imagination, as well as familiar little sparrows.
Will there be sparrows in heaven? I hope so.
Saturday, December 7, 2019
CHRISTMAS, SPARROWS, AND FRENCH FRIES
It's not quite winter yet, but here in Northwest Arkansas, we've already had a fairly cold, and wet November. The first week of December hasn't been much better. The trees have dropped their leaves, the grass is dry, and yellow, and the sparrows aren't hanging around in my front yard. It feels like winter, but it isn't. It used to be a time of wonder, and mystery to me. With the Nativity, the choirs, the lights on houses and downtown, all we need is a snow for the season to be special. We haven't had a snow at Christmas time since 2012. We've had snow in early December, mid-December, and after Christmas, but somehow we've escaped a white Christmas. The older you get the more you hope it doesn't happen. As I sit at my computer writing this, it is a nice sunny day and 48 degrees. I have the front door open and the sunshine is pouring in through the glass storm door, making my home office nice and toasty warm. All is good, except...there aren't any sparrows. My little buddies seem to have found better places to be. Next year, I'm going to put up a bird bath in the front yard so I can watch them from my office doorway. I'd put up a bird feeder, but the squirrels would hog it all. I haven't seen a bird feeder yet that could keep out squirrels. Still, I know God cares for the little sparrows, and as ironic as it may seem, we are part of His love and care.
Yesterday, I went to Sonic for lunch, and watched as a bunch of sparrows fought over a bunch of spilled french fries, and a bun from a dropped hamburger. It was quite comical as one particularly large sparrow tried to heft the bun. I'm sure the bun weighed more than he did, but he was determined to make a getaway with it. The more he worked at it, the more attention he drew from his companions. Soon there were about five or six sparrows tearing chunks from the bun and flying off in victory.
Not far from the bun was one sparrow who'd discovered a french fry. He grabbed it up in his beak and made off like a bandit. It is just like God to use us messy humans to provide food for a group of sparrows. It made me wonder if the sparrows got together and decided to go to Sonic for a holiday feast, knowing full well that there would be 'droppings' for them to eat.
I've said it before in this blog and I'll say it again, the knowledge that God cares for us more than He does the sparrows, makes this season special to me. In that statement made by Christ, is a truth that should encourage every sparrow. Jesus didn't say that God didn't care about sparrows, He said that he cares more about us. It is knowing that God loved...me, and everyone enough to give us His Son as a way to have eternal life, that makes Christmas a mystery. Perhaps, the sparrows are smarter than we are. I don't think sparrows wonder if we love them, or that we deliberately drop food for them. They just enjoy the feast we provide. If only our faith was that simple. If only we could jealously guard the salvation given to us by our loving heavenly Father. No questions, no worries, no moments of doubt. Somewhere within the angelic choir singing praise to God in the highest, is an angel who's duty it is to make sure that someone drops a bun, or spills some fries. That angel will make sure that a Tyson feed truck hits a bump and drops scoops of chicken feed along the road. What's good for the chicken is even better for the sparrow. If He does this for Sparrows, think of what He does for us. Somewhere, someplace will do an act of kindness and wonder why they did it. Someone will be given a thought to give a blanket to the homeless shelter, or work in a soup kitchen, or even give coins in a Salvation Army kettle. It may seem like only a french fry or a scrap to the one giving it, but to the one receiving, it is love.
I know my sparrows will be back. I know they will have somehow made it through the winter with or without my help because they have a God who cares for them.
Yesterday, I went to Sonic for lunch, and watched as a bunch of sparrows fought over a bunch of spilled french fries, and a bun from a dropped hamburger. It was quite comical as one particularly large sparrow tried to heft the bun. I'm sure the bun weighed more than he did, but he was determined to make a getaway with it. The more he worked at it, the more attention he drew from his companions. Soon there were about five or six sparrows tearing chunks from the bun and flying off in victory.
Not far from the bun was one sparrow who'd discovered a french fry. He grabbed it up in his beak and made off like a bandit. It is just like God to use us messy humans to provide food for a group of sparrows. It made me wonder if the sparrows got together and decided to go to Sonic for a holiday feast, knowing full well that there would be 'droppings' for them to eat.
I've said it before in this blog and I'll say it again, the knowledge that God cares for us more than He does the sparrows, makes this season special to me. In that statement made by Christ, is a truth that should encourage every sparrow. Jesus didn't say that God didn't care about sparrows, He said that he cares more about us. It is knowing that God loved...me, and everyone enough to give us His Son as a way to have eternal life, that makes Christmas a mystery. Perhaps, the sparrows are smarter than we are. I don't think sparrows wonder if we love them, or that we deliberately drop food for them. They just enjoy the feast we provide. If only our faith was that simple. If only we could jealously guard the salvation given to us by our loving heavenly Father. No questions, no worries, no moments of doubt. Somewhere within the angelic choir singing praise to God in the highest, is an angel who's duty it is to make sure that someone drops a bun, or spills some fries. That angel will make sure that a Tyson feed truck hits a bump and drops scoops of chicken feed along the road. What's good for the chicken is even better for the sparrow. If He does this for Sparrows, think of what He does for us. Somewhere, someplace will do an act of kindness and wonder why they did it. Someone will be given a thought to give a blanket to the homeless shelter, or work in a soup kitchen, or even give coins in a Salvation Army kettle. It may seem like only a french fry or a scrap to the one giving it, but to the one receiving, it is love.
I know my sparrows will be back. I know they will have somehow made it through the winter with or without my help because they have a God who cares for them.
Thursday, June 13, 2019
THINGS BREAK
I'm a fixer by trade. I can't remember a time in my life when I haven't been fixing things. From the time I was a youngster till now, I've only had two jobs where I didn't have to pick up a hand tool and repair something. One of those two jobs was construction work, so even then I had to use tools. Most of my life has revolved around a basic truth; things break. How people react to something breaking speaks volumes about who they are, and their approach to life.
Because my trade is fixing broken things, I make a living off of other peoples...problems. Auto mechanics do the same thing. Actually if you think about it, doctors do the same thing. Very little of medicine is preventative. This amazing biological machine we call a body wears out and needs to be repaired once in a while. Because...things break.
There was a time when if my car broke down, or an appliance stopped working, I would begin looking for some spiritual reason why the tragedy was happening to me. Then I figured out that things break. How I reacted to it was affecting my family. Grow up time!! Instead of flinging things across the room, shouting, and kicking things that were in my way, I learned to simply get out my tool bag and fix it. Simple. No blaming God, no blaming me, no blame period. Things break.
Everything that is made by man has a point where it will break. Metal can only be stressed so much before the molecular bonds begin to break down. Plastics release their molecular bonds becoming either crystalline or liquid again. Woods break down at the cellular level, giving way to one form of decay or another. Things break.
Even our amazing universe is breaking. Galaxies are speeding away from each other in great clusters to the point where someday we may not even be able to see their light. Besides, whether science wants to admit it or not, we're told in the Bible that the heavens would be rolled up like a scroll. It won't be needed. Things break.
I said all of this because I happened upon a tree limb which had fallen during a thunderstorm the night before. In the fork of the limb was a bird nest with only one egg still inside. The rest of the eggs were laying shattered on the ground just outside of the nest. I felt sad as I looked at the hope of life spilled out on the dirt beneath the nest. The limb broke, the eggs broke, things break.
I don't know what kind of bird laid the eggs, and I'm sure that the remaining egg would soon disappear as a meal for...something. Still, it bothered me, because of my love for sparrows. Do they know things break? How do they handle grief? Would they mourn?
Life is an amazing thing, and lately the discussion of when it begins has become a national issue. I tend to be simplistic in my thinking. Life begins at conception. I've held this belief since I could first understand how babies came into this world. Once I figured out that I was the product of a happy moment between two people, I looked at all human life as being special. It was my own moment, influenced by scripture, and knowing how I felt about my own existence.
Why the argument has become about choice is beyond me. The choice is simple, don't play around with reproduction unless you are willing to have life inside you. That is the choice. Yes, I'm aware of rape and incest. These things happen, and they are terrible. If you don't want what was created, then give the child up for adoption so that a couple somewhere who can't have a child, can. Instead of making it easier to abort, why don't we make it easier to adopt? The hoops you have to jump through for adoption don't exist for couples who simply have sex and pop out a baby. Every argument against easy adoption is as empty to me as the arguments for abortion.
Because my trade is fixing broken things, I make a living off of other peoples...problems. Auto mechanics do the same thing. Actually if you think about it, doctors do the same thing. Very little of medicine is preventative. This amazing biological machine we call a body wears out and needs to be repaired once in a while. Because...things break.
There was a time when if my car broke down, or an appliance stopped working, I would begin looking for some spiritual reason why the tragedy was happening to me. Then I figured out that things break. How I reacted to it was affecting my family. Grow up time!! Instead of flinging things across the room, shouting, and kicking things that were in my way, I learned to simply get out my tool bag and fix it. Simple. No blaming God, no blaming me, no blame period. Things break.
Everything that is made by man has a point where it will break. Metal can only be stressed so much before the molecular bonds begin to break down. Plastics release their molecular bonds becoming either crystalline or liquid again. Woods break down at the cellular level, giving way to one form of decay or another. Things break.
Even our amazing universe is breaking. Galaxies are speeding away from each other in great clusters to the point where someday we may not even be able to see their light. Besides, whether science wants to admit it or not, we're told in the Bible that the heavens would be rolled up like a scroll. It won't be needed. Things break.
I said all of this because I happened upon a tree limb which had fallen during a thunderstorm the night before. In the fork of the limb was a bird nest with only one egg still inside. The rest of the eggs were laying shattered on the ground just outside of the nest. I felt sad as I looked at the hope of life spilled out on the dirt beneath the nest. The limb broke, the eggs broke, things break.
I don't know what kind of bird laid the eggs, and I'm sure that the remaining egg would soon disappear as a meal for...something. Still, it bothered me, because of my love for sparrows. Do they know things break? How do they handle grief? Would they mourn?
Life is an amazing thing, and lately the discussion of when it begins has become a national issue. I tend to be simplistic in my thinking. Life begins at conception. I've held this belief since I could first understand how babies came into this world. Once I figured out that I was the product of a happy moment between two people, I looked at all human life as being special. It was my own moment, influenced by scripture, and knowing how I felt about my own existence.
Why the argument has become about choice is beyond me. The choice is simple, don't play around with reproduction unless you are willing to have life inside you. That is the choice. Yes, I'm aware of rape and incest. These things happen, and they are terrible. If you don't want what was created, then give the child up for adoption so that a couple somewhere who can't have a child, can. Instead of making it easier to abort, why don't we make it easier to adopt? The hoops you have to jump through for adoption don't exist for couples who simply have sex and pop out a baby. Every argument against easy adoption is as empty to me as the arguments for abortion.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
TRUST
Spring is in full bloom now. My roses are beginning to be heavy with flowers, and most of the early bulbs and lilies are finished. The trees are almost fully leafed out. I have a tulip tree that still has blossoms all over it, and the sparrows are going crazy feasting on whatever feasts on the tulip tree blossoms. We've had a wonderful mid-April through early May rain season as well as wonderful temperatures. Spring is already my favorite season of the year (my wife loves Fall more), but this year Spring has been a joy. Every year I look forward to it, but sometimes winter hangs on too long and we end up with no fruit on the trees or the vines. So, I am always grateful for this kind of Spring.
Who am I grateful to? God, of course!! I trust He knows what we need, even if sometimes His plan doesn't quite fulfill my idea of what He should do. As someone who grew up in the southwestern city of El Paso, Texas, I appreciate the full on green of Harrison, Arkansas. Everything, everyone, and yes, even everyplace, has good things about them, and bad. Growing up in El Paso, the daily paper kept a small little corner of the front page reserved for the "Sunshine Report". The report simply kept a tabulation of how many days the sun shined over the city. It didn't matter if the sun only came out for just a few minutes, it was still enough to add to the total. I don't remember what year it was, but I do remember reading on one particular day that the sun had shone for 3,242 days. I remember it because that day I went to school and wrote it on the chalkboard. It impressed me that in just under ten years, the sun had shone that many days in a row. During the day, my remark got the most remarks I'd ever got from anything I'd ever wrote. (My English teacher gave me a small corner in which to write my musings, and poetry. Blame her for this blog.) The remarks went from "understated wow!", to "The sun is always shining, dummy!" Reading those remarks left me a little hurt. Was I truly the only one who thought it was amazing that this city had been blessed with a glimpse of the sun every day for over nine years? It wasn't miraculous, nor was it even momentous, it was simply noteworthy.
Since that time, I've lived in different parts of the country where the weather can hide the sun for as long as fourteen days in a row. (Talk about cabin fever.) I remember a winter in Mtn Home, Idaho where thanks to the ash from Mt. St. Helens, we had a winter with so much snow that I had to cross country ski to work for a week. Which even as bad as that was, is not as bad as I've heard about in different areas of the country. One thing I've learned as I've grown up, is that even as dark or stormy as the weather may be, I have to trust that somewhere above the storm, the sun is shining. So, my High School critic was really correct, just insensitive.
I trust God, that this lovely blue marble is still spinning as it should, and that it is still orbiting the sun as it should. I have to trust that even though I may not see it happening visibly with my eyes, I know it is happening.
The march of seasons is what allows this planet to support the mass of human beings living on its surface. I know from what I've seen in the historical record, that there have been times on this planet where seasons weren't that pronounced. There may come a day when through some amazing event, we may not see the sun, and this world will be thrown into chaos. If that day were to come, I would still trust God's plan because I know Him. I trust Him to continue to guide this amazing planet in its path through the solar system. The only other alternative is to live in fear.
As I watch the little sparrows going about their daily life, I wonder if they even have a clue as to how precarious the perch is that we all share on this amazing course through space? Do they have an innate knowledge of God's provision? Do they even care? Do they trust? These question often come to me while I watch their antics. My heart tells me they don't, but then I wonder how I do?
Lucky sparrows.
Who am I grateful to? God, of course!! I trust He knows what we need, even if sometimes His plan doesn't quite fulfill my idea of what He should do. As someone who grew up in the southwestern city of El Paso, Texas, I appreciate the full on green of Harrison, Arkansas. Everything, everyone, and yes, even everyplace, has good things about them, and bad. Growing up in El Paso, the daily paper kept a small little corner of the front page reserved for the "Sunshine Report". The report simply kept a tabulation of how many days the sun shined over the city. It didn't matter if the sun only came out for just a few minutes, it was still enough to add to the total. I don't remember what year it was, but I do remember reading on one particular day that the sun had shone for 3,242 days. I remember it because that day I went to school and wrote it on the chalkboard. It impressed me that in just under ten years, the sun had shone that many days in a row. During the day, my remark got the most remarks I'd ever got from anything I'd ever wrote. (My English teacher gave me a small corner in which to write my musings, and poetry. Blame her for this blog.) The remarks went from "understated wow!", to "The sun is always shining, dummy!" Reading those remarks left me a little hurt. Was I truly the only one who thought it was amazing that this city had been blessed with a glimpse of the sun every day for over nine years? It wasn't miraculous, nor was it even momentous, it was simply noteworthy.
Since that time, I've lived in different parts of the country where the weather can hide the sun for as long as fourteen days in a row. (Talk about cabin fever.) I remember a winter in Mtn Home, Idaho where thanks to the ash from Mt. St. Helens, we had a winter with so much snow that I had to cross country ski to work for a week. Which even as bad as that was, is not as bad as I've heard about in different areas of the country. One thing I've learned as I've grown up, is that even as dark or stormy as the weather may be, I have to trust that somewhere above the storm, the sun is shining. So, my High School critic was really correct, just insensitive.
I trust God, that this lovely blue marble is still spinning as it should, and that it is still orbiting the sun as it should. I have to trust that even though I may not see it happening visibly with my eyes, I know it is happening.
The march of seasons is what allows this planet to support the mass of human beings living on its surface. I know from what I've seen in the historical record, that there have been times on this planet where seasons weren't that pronounced. There may come a day when through some amazing event, we may not see the sun, and this world will be thrown into chaos. If that day were to come, I would still trust God's plan because I know Him. I trust Him to continue to guide this amazing planet in its path through the solar system. The only other alternative is to live in fear.
As I watch the little sparrows going about their daily life, I wonder if they even have a clue as to how precarious the perch is that we all share on this amazing course through space? Do they have an innate knowledge of God's provision? Do they even care? Do they trust? These question often come to me while I watch their antics. My heart tells me they don't, but then I wonder how I do?
Lucky sparrows.
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