Light of the World

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
Father James Keller

You are the light of the world.
Matthew 5:14

Marvels of the Information Age

Wow! I bought something on the Internet (a "code library" for software development) in the course of some work I did a few years ago, and today I was going to buy an update. Just perchance, I realized that I had bought that code from a Romanian company using a German reseller. If your web site looks good enough, nobody cares where you are, and who you partner with.

It's not that I mind doing business with Romania, or Germany. I was just amazed that the presentation in this case was so slick that I never even considered whether this was like any of the other companies I do business with (usually from the U.S.). I reviewed the web site content, downloaded the sample and tried it, and since it was what I wanted, I bought it without so much as asking who was selling it to me. They were giving me the goods, they had a place to put the credit card number, voila!

I like things that way. God created us to live for His glory. In the course of our lives, we work to be able to supply for our needs, to worship God, to love others (probably not in that order). If someone else is going to sell me the product of their efforts, I don't care where God placed that person - whether in Romania, Venezuela, or down the street. May God's blessings be on the people in Romania that wrote the code I bought, and their partners in Germany.

Steven Curtis Chapman's Story Didn't Work

I learned this good-night story from Steven Curtis Chapman yesterday, and promptly tried it tonight, as I was putting the girls to bed at 10:00 p.m.:

Once upon a time, there were two girls, who were very tired. So their daddy put them to bed, and wished them good-night, and turned off the light. The End.

It didn't work. La determined, "That was not a story."

Back When I Was Young

One day, I'll be having this conversation with my grandson:

Me: "You think that's cheap gas? When I was young, we had a recession, and gas actually sank as low as $2.50!"
Him: "Whatever, Grandpa."

A Word for Our Times?

Looking at Gospelcom's Verse of the Day today, I couldn't help thinking that some translators should consider who they are translating for, and how words will be understood. This one's from the ESV:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare
Jeremiah 29:11

Oh no, I'm going to lose my job.

Alright, I know the verse continues "and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (And yes, they did have the whole verse on Gospelcom).

John 15:8

The point is not that it doesn't matter what fruit you produce.
The point is that unless you produce fruit, nothing else matters.

Problem of Evil

One of the issues considered in one of my classes was “the problem of evil.” Simply stated, why is there evil in this world when an Almighty God can (and clearly many times does) intervene? Assuming that He does intervene, why does He intervene some times, but not others?

One of the answers has been that God is determining everything that happens. I.e., Hitler rising to power would be God’s doing. Another point of view gives credit to the fallen world being responsible for the evil in this world, and therefore, a baby dying from sickness is considered due to how this world operates since the fall, because it is under the power of the evil one.

Of course, God does heal sick babies at other times, which begs the question why some are healed, and others not. One answer has been that God knows everything, and therefore let this particular baby die for some higher purpose. An answer to which many have replied, “which higher purpose would be so significant that the pain of a baby dying, possibly after a sickness that took a heavy toll on the small child, would be worth it?” As a minister, and a parent myself, I need to think hard whether I can see myself giving that answer to a grieving parent. “If it feels so wrong (in my eyes), can it be right (in God’s eyes)?” While that question is certainly not the perfect tool for measuring biblical truth, it at least encourages a very careful review. I myself have surely been dissatisfied by the “higher purpose” explanation.

I feel that Isaiah 65:20 shares something about the heart of God regarding this matter, as the prophet is speaking about the new heaven and the new earth:

No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days

God grieves when little children die. I don’t think that the god who promises a future where this horrible experience will never happen again, would use it as a means to accomplish His purposes now. Not a final answer, but still at least a tendency to me.

Change

Here's a quote from the vice-presidential candidate for the 'change' campaign: "I haven't changed in 35 years." Hmmm.