[Theology Thursday] Life Always Finds A Way
This winter, we were trapped in the "polar vortex" that had crippled much of the country in the coldest temperatures in recent memory. I was reminded that winter is often associated with death, but I have been thinking recently about the fact that death is never really the end of the story, and I am certain that life will appear once again.
We tend to believe that death is the final word, the in the Bible we often see death as being in one sense "cut off" or "separated." in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve "died" when they were cut off from fellowship with God and each other due to their disobedience. The nation of Israel "died" when they were separated from their homeland during the Babylonian captivity. I think you can understand what I'm trying to say here. God is never satisfied with death, and is always trying to bridge the gap and restore life just as He always tries to restore relationships
Some time ago I ran across this article from the website io9 that dealt with a 100-year-old abandoned wreck that had been left on its own in the shallows that has now become the home for a small forest.
I ran through the images that were filled with exquisite natural beauty, and I was reminded of an article that pointed out that signs of natural recovery were evident near the Mount St. Helens eruption site about a year after the event. I went looking for the article, but this one was as close as I could come.
Pictures like these remind me again of the wonder of creation. In the midst of death and destruction, to quote from the film Jurassic Park, "Life always finds a way."
Likewise, I also believe that "life is not a malfunction" (from the film Short Circuit). Life is no accident, but has purpose and created by God. The Bible clearly communicates that God is at the beginning of creation and the Author of life (Genesis 1-2), even if there is some disagreement on timetables and such. Later, in the Gospel of John, Jesus is likewise identified as God and therefore nothing exists that He didn't make (John 1:3). During His earthly ministry, Jesus again communicates that there is no life apart from Him: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"(John 14:6, New International Version)
Sometimes, as in the case of the shipwreck and the Mr. St. Helens environs, life is born from pain and death. Describing the pain of childbirth, God, through the prophet Isaiah says that He will not allow pain without something good to come of it. 'In the same way I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born,' says the Lord." (Isaiah 66:9 New Century Version). Even in the midst of death, life can be found, and with this being so, we can have hope. Author and theologian Leonard Sweet quotes from St. Clement of Alexandria: "He turned our sunsets into sunrises" Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215). To make it even geekier, J. R. R. Tolkien wrote "You can only come to the morning through the shadows."
Looking at the pictures linked above, I'd have to agree.
We tend to believe that death is the final word, the in the Bible we often see death as being in one sense "cut off" or "separated." in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve "died" when they were cut off from fellowship with God and each other due to their disobedience. The nation of Israel "died" when they were separated from their homeland during the Babylonian captivity. I think you can understand what I'm trying to say here. God is never satisfied with death, and is always trying to bridge the gap and restore life just as He always tries to restore relationships
Some time ago I ran across this article from the website io9 that dealt with a 100-year-old abandoned wreck that had been left on its own in the shallows that has now become the home for a small forest.
I ran through the images that were filled with exquisite natural beauty, and I was reminded of an article that pointed out that signs of natural recovery were evident near the Mount St. Helens eruption site about a year after the event. I went looking for the article, but this one was as close as I could come.
Pictures like these remind me again of the wonder of creation. In the midst of death and destruction, to quote from the film Jurassic Park, "Life always finds a way."
Likewise, I also believe that "life is not a malfunction" (from the film Short Circuit). Life is no accident, but has purpose and created by God. The Bible clearly communicates that God is at the beginning of creation and the Author of life (Genesis 1-2), even if there is some disagreement on timetables and such. Later, in the Gospel of John, Jesus is likewise identified as God and therefore nothing exists that He didn't make (John 1:3). During His earthly ministry, Jesus again communicates that there is no life apart from Him: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"(John 14:6, New International Version)
Sometimes, as in the case of the shipwreck and the Mr. St. Helens environs, life is born from pain and death. Describing the pain of childbirth, God, through the prophet Isaiah says that He will not allow pain without something good to come of it. 'In the same way I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born,' says the Lord." (Isaiah 66:9 New Century Version). Even in the midst of death, life can be found, and with this being so, we can have hope. Author and theologian Leonard Sweet quotes from St. Clement of Alexandria: "He turned our sunsets into sunrises" Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215). To make it even geekier, J. R. R. Tolkien wrote "You can only come to the morning through the shadows."
Looking at the pictures linked above, I'd have to agree.
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