“Say Ah” – Nov. 3

“Ah, Lord God!  It is you who has made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm!  Nothing is too hard for you.”  Jeremiah 32:17

Upon September’s conclusion, I knew October’s difficulties.  The nature of my employment had conspired against me by scheduling five business trips in the span of four weeks.  I realize that, for some, this may have been business as usual.  However, six business trips constituted my annual total in years past.  I am not accustomed to this level of business travel.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should reveal the locations of my business travel before you commiserate too much with me.  I was working in the following National Parks:

Mount Rainer National Park
Death Valley National Park
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Muir Woods National Monument
Olympic National Park
Yosemite National Park

I can just feel the sympathy evaporating as this list is read.  It was rough duty but someone has to do it.  My only appeal for sympathy is that while I was traveling to beautiful locations it was for work.  My typical trip was a three day affair; flying to the Park on day one, conducting the project meeting on the following, and then returning on the third day.  These trips contained a lot of time in airports, planes, rental cars and hotels, albeit, in the context of a spectacular National Park.

I have found that it takes purposefulness to truly combat the busyness of business.  I endeavor to purposefully carve out time in each business trip to appreciate the particular locale of my trip, especially on trips to national parks, otherwise I will miss the spectacular.  It is easy to fly in, do the work, and fly out without ever looking up.  We can miss a lot of wonder in our diligent toil.

Therefore, I try to find a moment or two on each business trip to set aside my labor, look around me and say, “Ah, this is spectacular!”

I have realized my need to be purposeful in looking past myself so that I can appreciate the wonder of the world I live in, otherwise it doesn’t happen.  Beholding the glorious is one of the unique characteristics of being human.  There is no other creature who has this unique ability to appreciate the spectacular.  It is what we were made to do.

However, I often fail to regularly do what I was uniquely created for.  I get so consumed by my daily toils that I fail to look up and appreciate the world around me.

If I am failing to appreciate the world in which I am placed,
how can I truly appreciate the Creator of that world?

If I am failing to appreciate my Creator,
how can I truly trust him?

If I don’t truly trust Him,
how can I say that I have faith in Him?

Consider how Jeremiah may have come to his declaration of faith, “nothing is too hard for God”.

He beheld the heavens and the earth;
He praises the Creator, “Ah, Lord”;
He reasons that creation must have required great power through the outstretched arm of God;
He concludes in faith that if God can create the world around him then there is nothing too hard for him.

I don’t know if this is exactly how Jeremiah thought.  Although, this is how my faith often works.

My soul is most refreshed when I lay aside my preoccupations and simply behold His glory.
My faith is renewed through each exclamation of “Ah, Lord”.
My resolve is strengthened when reminded of my God who can do anything.

I believe that we all can grow in our trust that “nothing is too hard for God”, which means that we all can use more “Ah, Lord” moments.  Maybe, rather than trying to do more, we simply need to carve out 15 minutes a day to merely relax and enjoy the spectacular nature of our Creator.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for the spectacular world that we live in.   Thank you for putting on display your glory.  Thank you for creating me with the ability to praise you.  Forgive me for often failing to do what I have been uniquely created to do.  Lord, remind me, today, to look up.  Remind me to behold your glory, today.  Father, inform my theology through the appreciation of your creation.  Build my faith through all the “Ah” moments that you grant me.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

ASCENDING THE IMPOSSIBLE – May 1

“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.’” John 3:3

I just returned from another business trip to Mount Rainer National Park. Unlike my last trip (Knowing Greatness without Sight), the skies were clear and I was able to behold clearly the mountain. I gazed upon the heights of the mountains with a yearning eye.

The clarity of the skies promised an unimpeded view to anyone at the pinnacle of such a mountain. I so wanted to see that view. Yet, I knew that neither I nor anyone else would behold the view on that day. The snow is still too deep and the trails too treacherous to ascend Mount Rainer. Therefore, the prize of the glorious view from its pinnacle was not beheld by any mortal man on that clear day.

There is another site that is even more unattainable than the wintry panorama of Mount Rainer’s peak. No man can ascend to God’s presence and behold the Kingdom of God. For this site, Jesus told us that we must be born again.

How does one ascend to a peak that has no trail?
How does one scale a summit whose base cannot be found?
How does the flesh accomplish that which is born of the Spirit?

It is impossible. It is impossible for man to find access or even to see the Kingdom of God from the pinnacle of any human accomplishment. No one can ascend to heaven.

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (John 4:13-15)

This is the glorious good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The ascent to heaven, access to the Kingdom of God, is now possible – not by any work of the flesh but by the work of the Spirit.

We can stand at the pinnacle of the mountain of God and see His Kingdom. We can enter into His rest and eternal life. It is an ascent that we cannot make but was accomplished for us. The prize of this summit is a gift given to all how believe in the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

Praise be to God who has made the impossible possible. May we marvel at the miraculous heavenly things of God Almighty!

PRAYER: Father, thank you for making a way to your holy presence. Thank you for making the ascent to your Kingdom for us.  Thank you for the work the Spirit that I might be born of the Spirit.  Forgive me for my lack of marvel at the gift of eternal life that you have given me.  You are great and greatly to be praised.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

“AN IRRATIONAL LIFE” – Oct 13

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

My comprehension has very distinct limitations.  It has to stretch when I contemplate that which is beyond my experience.  Thoughts of eternity prove to be especially challenging.

My life’s experiences have all included beginnings and endings.

I do not know how a complete story can be told without a beginning.

Without an ending, stories are forced to conclude with an unsatisfying  “to be continued”.

I do not know if a finite mind, born and raised in a terminable land, can truly grasp the infinite.

Inherit in the explanation that Jesus is the same, yesterday and today and forever, is the premise that He is infinite.  He is the same throughout all of time.  He does not change and is without beginning or ending.

Jesus Christ is infinite. 

tj.blackwell / Foter / CC BY-NC

My limited familiarity with the infinite probably resides in the number Pi.  Pi is an infinite, non-repeating number whose value is the ratio of any circle’s circumference to its diameter.  It is an irrational number, which means that its value cannot be expressed exactly as a fraction.  Consequently, Pi never ends or repeats. It is also a transcendental number, which implies, among other things, that no finite sequence of algebraic operations on integers (powers, roots, sums, etc.) can be equal to its value.(Urban Dictionary: Pi)  Pi is infinity unique.

.sarahwynne. / Foter / CC BY-NC

What if our lives could be expressed as the result a mathematical equation such as Pi?  Consider if every moment of our existence were represented by a Pi like digit.  If our individual existences could be expressed as a mathematical equation, would it be considered rational or irrational?

As a rational number, there will be a final digit.  The long series of digits will come to a calculated end; one last digit and then no more.  There are many people who believe their life is rational.  It has a beginning and it has an ending.  They believe that their experience on this world is all that there is.  They believe that the digits of their life are merely a sequence of statistically random events.  If you were to convert those digits in into ASCII text, there would be no names of loved ones, no dates of significance, and no purpose in death.  They hold that there is no purpose to be found within the finite string of the digits of our lives; life is random and rational.

Stuck in Customs / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

However, what if there is more to our existence than our experience?  What if there is an infinite existence beyond our experience of beginnings and endings?  We know that the infinite exists.  We have the irrational number Pi.

The infinite is irrational.  Rational sense cannot be made of the irrational.  However, just because something is irrational does not mean that it does not exist.

We are told that Jesus Christ is infinite.  That statement is beyond my rational understanding.  So often, we hold the irrational at arm’s length because it troubles our rational sensibilities.  We like to be able to explain things.  We stretch our comprehension and try to grasp an understanding that is beyond all that we have known.  I accept reality that there is infinite existence by faith but that does not mean that be I grasp the full range of mysteries within the statement or that I can relate.  I cannot relate to the infinite.

By faith, I believe what the scriptures tell us.  We are irrational numbers.  The digits of our lives will continue without end, just like Pi.  All of mankind was created as unique irrational numbers.  Just because our bodies may die does not mean that our unique calculation does not continue to generate another digit.  Man was created for eternity with a brief period spent on earth with purpose in every digit.

Consider when Christ  took on flesh.  His life on this earth had a singular purpose – to be the lamb.

He came to fulfill the law.
He came to call sinners to repentance.
He came to be the light in a dark world.
He came to do the will of Him who sent Him.

Every digit of Christ’s life had purpose.  The ASCII text of the digits of Christ’s life would reveal the names of all He touched, all He showed love, all He condemned, the date of the cross, His resurrection and His ascension.  Christ’s digit would show a string of purpose and intent that is without end.  The prophesies fulfilled throughout Jesus’ life demonstrate that His existence was not the result of chance and happenstance.  There was purpose and intention in every digit of Christ’s life.

If God created the equation of Christ’s life on earth with precise meaning and intent in every digit, then why would we think that our lives are random and purposeless?  We were created to be uniquely irrational.  We were created with purpose; a string of digits full of meaning and intention.

We are the product of the great Mathematician.  He created the uniquely irrational equation that describes you and me.  He prescribed in us every digit, in the precise order that He intended.  We were created for the infinite.

I often forget that reality. 

~jjjohn~ / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

I often don’t live for the infinite.

Everyone who is in Christ has to come to that point in time when they relinquish themselves to the irrational.  We call it faith.  Our hope resides in the irrational mysteries of Christ.  Our hope is in infinity; that there is more to the life than what we experience.

We need to let our hope be a reality in our daily lives.  Our hope should lead our lives.  We were created for a purpose-filled infinity.  Christ came to do the will of Him who sent Him.  As irrational creations, we were created for the same purpose; to do the will of Him who has called us.

Let’s start living the irrational lives that we were created to live!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for creating a world that is beyond my comprehension.  Thank you for giving me purpose in world that appears chaotic.  Father, keep infinity in my mind.  Help me to accept the glorious irrationality of faith.  Help me to live in the hope of eternal life.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“CREATED TO CLIMB” – Oct 9

“For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”  Matthew 7:14

My eyes have been squinting in study of the progression of the lines on this topographic map.  The serpentine lines represent the topography of various trails on the south side of Mount Rainer National Park.  The close proximity of these lines on paper explain why I felt my heart pound, my calves tighten, and my breathing hasten, as I hiked the various routes.  These trails are steep.  After all, they are on a volcano.

As you might suspect, no trail to the summit of Mount Rainer adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Americans with Disabilities Act legislated to every individual within the United States the entitlement of full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, facilities, or accommodations of any public place.  This act has been the governing legislation behind the appurtenances, accoutrements, and other eliminated impediments constructed to make the public square universally accessible over the last twenty-three years.

I am evaluating one Mount Rainer trail to determine if grading improvements are feasible to make the route more accessible to those who are unable to hike the steeper trails of Mount Rainer.  However, this route will not lead to the summit of Mount Rainer.  This trail will skirt the base of the mountain, leading its travelers to a delightful waterfall but not the summit.

This destination will suffice for most hikers since few actually intend to summit Mount Rainer.  The vast majority of hikers are in search of a pleasant day hike.  There are some who desire the challenge of rising over ridges and recovering through valleys but they don’t intend to summit.  A goal of an invigorating day on the mountain suffices as sufficient inspiration.

Other hikers don’t want a challenge and will seek out the easiest trail available.  Often, they are physically incapable of defeating the escalating elevation of a real mountain.  Therefore, they are appeased by beholding waterfalls, towering snow caps and vast forests of the mountain landscape from a distance.

papalars / Foter / CC BY-ND

Every child of God entered the trail head of the eternal upon their salvation.  We are told that this spiritual path of faith is narrow and difficult.  I have always envisioned this path like a trail to the summit of the tallest peak.  The path to the Father has never been ADA compliant.  Sinful people have never been entitled to full and equal enjoyment of the blessings of God’s presence .  In fact, no man ever has been capable of climbing the narrow path of faith into the presence of God.

None is righteous, no, not one; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. (Romans 3:10-12)

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

God sent His own son into this world, in the likeness of sinful flesh to address this accessibility issue once and for all.  However, Jesus did not come into this world to make the path to the Father ADA compliant.

He did not come to remove the difficulty of the route.
He did not come to eliminate the hurdles.
He did not come to chisel an escalator into impenetrable holiness.
He did not come to lower the glory of God down to the realm of man.
He did not come to diminish the elevation of righteousness for the unrighteous.

Chad Podoski / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Jesus came to create supernatural climbers.  We are new creatures in Christ.  IN Christ, we are supernatural climbing freaks.  Our sinful flesh is no longer a barrier to the escalating elevation of the Most High.

The narrow way that was unassailable in our flesh has been made accessible because we are changed.  The spiritual path of faith has remained unchanged; it is still narrow and hard.  We are the ones who have been granted a new characteristic.  We have been made righteous through the blood of Christ.  Only the righteous can ascend through the narrow gate, on the hard way that leads to life.

We have been made to climb.
We have been acclimatized for the ascent. 

Many approach their faith as if they are in search of a pleasant day of hiking.  They may desire some spiritual challenges to round out their life but they are not really interested in the radical dedication of summiting.

The children of God were not created for pleasant day hiking.
We were made to climb. 

There are those who poke around with religion in search of the most comfortable version available.  Often, their desire for the spiritual is appeased by beholding a glimpse of the divine from a distance.

The children of God were not created to behold their Father from afar.
We were made to climb.

We are prepared by the blood of Christ and empowered by the Spirit to overcome all hardships, difficulties, and suffering.  There is nothing too difficult for our Lord.  Therefore, there is nothing too difficult for His children.  There is no trail too steep.  There is no impediment that cannot be surmounted.  There are no barriers that cannot be tossed aside.

We were made to climb!

Let’s gear-up and ascend in earnest.
Let’s breathe the rarefied air of the Almighty.
Let’s climb for the glory of our God.

See you at the top!

PRAYER: Lord, you know that I have often been content with a pleasant day hike.  Father, I want to climb.  I want to draw close to You.  I want to breathe in your presence and all of you blessings.  Thank you for giving me all that I need to travel this narrow and difficult path that You have laid before me.  Thank you for showing me the way.  Help me to continue to climb in earnest today and every day that you have me on this earth.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.   Amen.