Shade Tree Wisdom 1/9/10

Well, we are in the middle of some cold days. But today promises to reach into the 40’s, better than the teens it hit last night. Cold, yes, but not so bad really. I spoke with two folks this morning, one was born in Utah and the other in Buffalo, and both said it was just a matter of getting used to it. Nature.

I was reminded of that glorious statement in the psalms. ”The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showed His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech, nor language, where their voice is not heard”. Vv. 1-3. It’s all around, the work of God in nature. We pay it little attention till it smites us like these cold days. We don’t marvel at a tree, growing tall, drawing moisture into leaves fifty feet in the air, till it falls on our roof.

St. Paul calls attention to God’s nature when he begins his letter to the Romans, a letter filled with what Jesus means to us, and what faith means to us. Paul reminds his hearers of this when he begins this letter of Christian theology.

This is what he says, ”That which may be known of God is clear to them, because God has shown it to them. . .so that they are without excuse”. Rom. 1, 19.20c. E C Peterson in his translation, The Message, writes, that “the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes, there it is. . .so nobody has a good excuse.” Paul writes that the result is “their foolish heart was darkened, and professing themselves as wise, they became fools.” V.21.22. And the result is their lifestyle. The final verses of chapter one explain why such behavior follows to its rotten end.

And this cold reminds us we are surrounded by God’s nature. Texas is blessed with an abundance of raptors, eagles, peregrine falcons, owls, all live here. They are skilled hunters and sometime fishers. One writer, reporting in the Houston Chronicle (l/7/pg8c) says, “I have stood on the sidewalk of downtown Houston, mesmerized while watching a peregrine falcon climb above a flock of pigeons, hiding himself in the sun, circling, till one pigeon made the fatal mistake of not paying attention, then, with winged folded, the falcon came, like a feathered bullet rocketing out of the sky with unerring aim. A stooping falcon is the fastest thing on earth, a talon flashes out, and the falcon flies to its resting place, the problem of lunch solved again.

Nature is there to serve us, and to remind us also. The letter to the Hebrews begins, “God who in times past has spoken to us by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” Heb. L.1.2.

That is what it all finally all comes down to. What does Jesus Christ mean to us, to you, and to me? Just a prophet, or a wise man, or the Savior, the Son of God, come to suffer, die, and rise again to pay for the sins we have done. May we ever be reminded of that saving truth.

GPD 1/9/10