Shade Tree Wisdom 12/9/10

For some years many papers carried a feature titled “The Country parson”. Each is a bit of wisdom or comment on the passing scene. One showed the Parson on his morning walk with a folded newspaper tucked under his arm. Someone asked why the paper, and his reply was this. “The newspaper tells is what is happening in the world.. The Bible tells us why.”

No sooner had I read that bit when someone suggested a verse of Scripture to describe our political scene best. The verse is Ecclesiastes 10,2.
NIV Translates this: “The heart of the wise man inclines to the right, the heart of the fool to the left.”

Trying to make sense of things is the study that engages many minds.
Jeremiah, the ancient prophet to Israel, writes, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?” Jer 17,9.

So where to look? Well, the Country parson is right, go to the Bible for our answers. It is the one Book that will not only make sense of the way we behave, but tell us exactly why we do it, and what the only solution is.

Old stuff, you say, I know all that.

It is because humans tend to be forgetful of how desperate their situation really is that the Church celebrates Advent again, and Christmas, and, in order, the scenes of our salvation through the birth of Jesus Christ. The Bible calls Him our Savior.

The Season of the year we are in right now leads to the Birth, and we do need this reminder, we rejoice to celebrate it again, and it gives us new heart for the life we lead here in this sin-riddled earth. Here we find strength, get renewed faith for the struggle, take fresh heart to face tomorrow, and get the peace from God that only He can give us. Why, He assures us our sins have been forgiven. This is what God tells us, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” Psalm 103. Then the psalm adds, “For He knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust”. v.14.

So, yes, “The newspaper & TV news tell us what is happening, the Bible tells us why.”

GPD 12/9/10