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A Christian
Thought for the Month - May 2012
Thoughts for believers & seekers
Thought for the Month -
Look around and think
Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of the Lord, the skies proclaim the works of his hands
This is the time of the year when to be a town dweller you really do miss out! All around us life is bursting forth. Blossom abounds, buds are appearing in plants everywhere and the landscape is being transformed. Although the media has had a field-day with the weather, for us here in this little corner of England, the weather has been perfect for growth. The spasmodic rain has brought life to the plants and the intermittent days of sunshine have helped growth. Plant life is growing at a furious pace and life abounds everywhere.
Now I always think there are two possibilities if you are are gardener or simply an observer of nature. The first thing you may think is, “This is wonderful. Every year, exactly the same. You can almost guarantee it. It’s just like one gigantic great machine that just keeps on going. Keeps on going!” The tendency there is to attribute it all to some sort of ‘mechanistic Nature’ that keep on all by itself.
The second viewpoint is that espoused by the Psalmist in the Bible. You look at all that is happening, all of the natural world around you and think, “This is really amazing. That sunrise and sunset is incredibly beautiful. This bursting plant world is wonderful. It can’t possibly be pure chance. Why should I even look on it all and be moved? Is this the handiwork of God?”
In terms of the natural world, those are the only two possibilities. We either see it all as purely mechanistic, or we see it as the work of God, an expression of His goodness towards us. The first view is godless and the second is godly, we might say. No God or there is a God.
I used to have a friend who said, “I feel sorry for people who don’t believe, because when something good happens to them they have no one to thank, and yet they feel thankful.” In some way he was encapsulating the biggest problem of believing there is no God. If there is no God then everything we know of as existence is pure chance and meaningless. A chemical reaction doesn’t have ‘meaning’; it just happens. The trouble is, however, that all of us seek meaning and purpose in life. We all, deep down, long for a sense of meaning and purpose.
But there is another tricky aspect about the ‘No God’ position and it is to do with such concepts as ‘beauty’ and ‘love’. If we are just a bunch of molecules that have arrived at this particular configuration after millions of years, then gazing in wonder at a sunset or anything else we consider ‘beautiful’ is just a meaningless emotional jumbling of the molecules. Feelings of ‘love’? Just another set of meaningless jumbling of molecules. Stirred or moved by poetry, drama or music? Even more meaningless emotional jumbling of the molecules! However hard any famous biologist may try and attribute meaning to such things, if the origins of life are accidental, or random, then they are meaningless and all of life is meaningless, an accident - but of course everything within us screams against this. We want there to be real meaning, we want to feel that concepts such as love and beauty are meaninful.
How different and reassuring is the ‘Belief in God’ viewpoint that says, all that is, is designed by a good Designer and planned for our pleasure. Yes, so often it is not functioning as it was designed to function because we have turned away from the Designer and so it malfunctions, but so much of His goodness is still there and He is still working into it to bring goodness to us. ‘Meaning’ becomes understanding this and learning to live in relation to it.
The goodness of the world around us, the Psalmist said, is a signpost to the goodness of God. The evil that men do and the breakdown in the world’s working is a signpost, it says elsewhere in the Bible, to our need, a need of forgiveness and reconciliation so we can enter into the wonder of knowing this Creator of all things who has given us so much to enjoy.
This wonderful world is just one piece of evidence that calls to us. The Bible, the New Testament and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are other such evidences that call out to whoever has an open, seeking mind. Look, see, think, reflect and come and see and experience for yourself.
The churches of the District are there as other evidences that point to ‘another way’. At least two of them at the present time are running the famous Alpha Courses, that lay out the basic evidence for the Christian Faith. Anyone can join.
Enjoy the season, enjoy the wonder of Spring and new life and maybe, just maybe, you might like to think on these things further. It’s a time of new life!
Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of the Lord, the skies proclaim the works of his hands
This is the time of the year when to be a town dweller you really do miss out! All around us life is bursting forth. Blossom abounds, buds are appearing in plants everywhere and the landscape is being transformed. Although the media has had a field-
Now I always think there are two possibilities if you are are gardener or simply an observer of nature. The first thing you may think is, “This is wonderful. Every year, exactly the same. You can almost guarantee it. It’s just like one gigantic great machine that just keeps on going. Keeps on going!” The tendency there is to attribute it all to some sort of ‘mechanistic Nature’ that keep on all by itself.
The second viewpoint is that espoused by the Psalmist in the Bible. You look at all that is happening, all of the natural world around you and think, “This is really amazing. That sunrise and sunset is incredibly beautiful. This bursting plant world is wonderful. It can’t possibly be pure chance. Why should I even look on it all and be moved? Is this the handiwork of God?”
In terms of the natural world, those are the only two possibilities. We either see it all as purely mechanistic, or we see it as the work of God, an expression of His goodness towards us. The first view is godless and the second is godly, we might say. No God or there is a God.
I used to have a friend who said, “I feel sorry for people who don’t believe, because when something good happens to them they have no one to thank, and yet they feel thankful.” In some way he was encapsulating the biggest problem of believing there is no God. If there is no God then everything we know of as existence is pure chance and meaningless. A chemical reaction doesn’t have ‘meaning’; it just happens. The trouble is, however, that all of us seek meaning and purpose in life. We all, deep down, long for a sense of meaning and purpose.
But there is another tricky aspect about the ‘No God’ position and it is to do with such concepts as ‘beauty’ and ‘love’. If we are just a bunch of molecules that have arrived at this particular configuration after millions of years, then gazing in wonder at a sunset or anything else we consider ‘beautiful’ is just a meaningless emotional jumbling of the molecules. Feelings of ‘love’? Just another set of meaningless jumbling of molecules. Stirred or moved by poetry, drama or music? Even more meaningless emotional jumbling of the molecules! However hard any famous biologist may try and attribute meaning to such things, if the origins of life are accidental, or random, then they are meaningless and all of life is meaningless, an accident -
How different and reassuring is the ‘Belief in God’ viewpoint that says, all that is, is designed by a good Designer and planned for our pleasure. Yes, so often it is not functioning as it was designed to function because we have turned away from the Designer and so it malfunctions, but so much of His goodness is still there and He is still working into it to bring goodness to us. ‘Meaning’ becomes understanding this and learning to live in relation to it.
The goodness of the world around us, the Psalmist said, is a signpost to the goodness of God. The evil that men do and the breakdown in the world’s working is a signpost, it says elsewhere in the Bible, to our need, a need of forgiveness and reconciliation so we can enter into the wonder of knowing this Creator of all things who has given us so much to enjoy.
This wonderful world is just one piece of evidence that calls to us. The Bible, the New Testament and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are other such evidences that call out to whoever has an open, seeking mind. Look, see, think, reflect and come and see and experience for yourself.
The churches of the District are there as other evidences that point to ‘another way’. At least two of them at the present time are running the famous Alpha Courses, that lay out the basic evidence for the Christian Faith. Anyone can join.
Enjoy the season, enjoy the wonder of Spring and new life and maybe, just maybe, you might like to think on these things further. It’s a time of new life!