Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Up Close
* Scripture: Isaiah wrote, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10, NKJV

We had been there before, my wife and I, but our children had never seen the mountains. All the way across the plains and hills of Missouri and Kansas each new rise in the landscape elicited the query, “Is that a mountain?” “No,” we would say, “Not yet. When you have to stick your heads out the car windows to see the top, that’s a mountain.”
Finally, as we navigated the foothills of eastern Colorado, we could point ahead to the west and say, “Those are the mountains.” Big! Impressive, massive, beyond belief for a flatlander. Seen from the distance they appear as a great unbroken mass rising to the clouds, and capped with a topping of white, even late in the month of June. The real wonder and awe is not seen, though, until one is enveloped in the midst of a mountain range. Up close and personal, it is the small things, the varied detail, that creates an aura of anticipation for what lies around the next bend.
The road ahead turns out to be more than just up and more up. Cresting a long rise may bring a sudden vista of a valley reaching off into the distance, perhaps cradling a shimmering lake. A closer inspection may reveal that the stream has been blocked by a beaver dam, just like in the picture books, and the lucky observer may even spot one of the industrious builders in their native habitat. Plants, flowers, and wildlife unlike anything seen at lower elevations make each rest stop or pull-off point an invitation to exploration.
Seen up close, even the rocks themselves turn out to be so much more than just one big blob of stone. Layered, tipped, and tumbled, with coloration to challenge any box of crayons, the little details fill many a geology book. What at a distance appears to be solid, everlasting, unbreakable, and impermeable reveals that the forces of time and nature produce cracks, crumbling, and erosion. What rises up eventually comes down, a thought that might give pause to even the most ‘hard-boiled’ of us mortals.
There is a scale in the mountains that dwarfs us. We are reminded of forces beyond our capabilities or comprehension. To have risen a thousand, two thousand feet, only to look up and see sheer cliffs and towering heights yet far above is humbling. To round a bend in the road only to see it ever higher, clinging to the side of the mountain in the distance, we realize that we must trust in not only the builders that carved out the road we travel upon, but also share the faith of those who have safely traveled this way before us.
So, too, as we travel the road of life, we see God off in the distance, omnipotent, infinite, unreachable, beyond our limited comprehension. By moving closer to Him, we enter a relationship that is filled with the splendor of things otherwise unseen. Things like joy, love, and peace, just our size. Trust The Builder, and join in faith with those who have traveled this way before us.
August 28, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Isaiah wrote, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10, NKJV

We had been there before, my wife and I, but our children had never seen the mountains. All the way across the plains and hills of Missouri and Kansas each new rise in the landscape elicited the query, “Is that a mountain?” “No,” we would say, “Not yet. When you have to stick your heads out the car windows to see the top, that’s a mountain.”
Finally, as we navigated the foothills of eastern Colorado, we could point ahead to the west and say, “Those are the mountains.” Big! Impressive, massive, beyond belief for a flatlander. Seen from the distance they appear as a great unbroken mass rising to the clouds, and capped with a topping of white, even late in the month of June. The real wonder and awe is not seen, though, until one is enveloped in the midst of a mountain range. Up close and personal, it is the small things, the varied detail, that creates an aura of anticipation for what lies around the next bend.
The road ahead turns out to be more than just up and more up. Cresting a long rise may bring a sudden vista of a valley reaching off into the distance, perhaps cradling a shimmering lake. A closer inspection may reveal that the stream has been blocked by a beaver dam, just like in the picture books, and the lucky observer may even spot one of the industrious builders in their native habitat. Plants, flowers, and wildlife unlike anything seen at lower elevations make each rest stop or pull-off point an invitation for exploration.
Seen up close, even the rocks themselves turn out to be so much more than just one big blob of stone. Layered, tipped, and tumbled, with coloration to challenge any box of crayons, the little details fill many a geology book. What at a distance appears to be solid, everlasting, unbreakable, and impermeable reveals that the forces of time and nature produce cracks, crumbling, and erosion. What rises up eventually comes down, a thought that might give pause to even the most ‘hard-boiled’ of us mortals.
There is a scale in the mountains that dwarfs us. We are reminded of forces beyond our capabilities or comprehension. To have risen a thousand, two thousand feet, only to look up and see sheer clifts and towering heights yet far above is humbling. To round a bend in the road only to see it ever higher, clinging to the side of the mountain in the distance, we realize that we must trust in not only the builders that carved out the road we travel upon, but also share the faith of those who have safely traveled this way before us.
So, too, as we travel the road of life, we see God off in the distance, omnipotent, infinite, unreachable, beyond our limited comprehension. By moving closer to Him, we enter a relationship that is filled with the splender of things otherwise unseen. Things like joy, love, and peace, just our size. Trust The Builder, and join in faith with those who have traveled this way before us.
August 28 (News) 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: James wrote, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8, NKJV

I suppose that if I were to ask people to define the main theme of the Bible, the overwhelming majority would say “God” or “Jesus.” To take nothing from the prominence of The Deity, my response will be “Relationships.” Please allow me to share my reasoning with you.
Suppose that I tell you that a magnificent rock formation forms the focal point of a vast, trackless desert. You may well say, “So?”
I persist; “It is unlike anything you have ever seen. You really should go to see it for yourself.” Yielding slightly, you may ask where it is located. Should I say, “Australia,” you could rightly comment that Australia is not only far away, but is also a very large country.
“OK,” I say. “I’ll show you a map of how to get there,” and talk about distance and direction, all of which will of course be in relation to some point and to where you are at the moment. Relationships.
Conceding that such a trip may not be within reality, I may throw in a picture so that you can see for yourself the wonders that I proclaim. Again, I need to include some references about substance, length, breadth and height, and how it may compare to anything found elsewhere in the world. Relationships.
God is Infinite, All-powerful, All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Hearing. He is known as the “Great I Am.” God “IS!” How do we describe the indescribable? What more to say?
He is the Creator of all that exists; That is a relationship. He wants to be our God, and we are to be His People. That is a relationship.
Think about all that is contained in the Bible. The very commandments proclaim not only God, but the relationship between all things in creation, living and nonliving. Jesus sums up the commandments in Matthew 22:36-40 by stating that a certain relationship should exist between God and ourselves, and between ourselves and our neighbor. The truth of the Parable of the Good Samaritan lies not in who of the three men passing along that Jericho road believes in God, but in who has a Godly relationship with his ‘neighbor.’
Again, it is our relationship to the least of His Children and our response brought about from that relationship that is important, (Mt. 25:31-46).
Suppose that you are sitting in a room which darkens as the daylight ebbs. You are there, the darkness is there, and a light switch is located across the room. To bring illumination (light) into your life, you need to do something about your relationship to that light switch. Get up, move that relationship close enough that you can turn on the power.
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.
August 14, 2005