No matter what corner of the world in which we reside and despite what has transpired during our “today”, wherever and whenever the sun sets, the day’s end is announced by a fleeting but stunningly beautiful, soul-touching pause.
Between the busyness of our day’s events and the “coming to terms with” them, the splendor of reflecting and refracting light pulls our eyes heavenward. Self-awareness is suspended for an awe inspiring moment when astonishing beauty slows life and lifts spirits. The sky silently speaks, declaring the magnificence of Someone greater than us. He has “set His glory above the heavens”(Psalm 8:1), and we have just had a tiny glimpse of that glory!
From the rising of the sun to the place that it sets , the Name of the Lord is to be praised. (Psalm 113:3)
Helen Hunt Jackson’s October’s Bright Blue Weather opines the beauty of October skies: “O suns and skies and clouds of June and flowers of June together, Ye cannot rival for one hour October’s bright blue weather.”
My grammar school teacher used this and other poetry to teach us penmanship and literature at the same time. However, either inadvertently or intentionally, she missed an opportunity to present a history lesson about suffering. Helen Hunt Jackson was an activist who wrote a bookabout the government’s mistreatment of Native Americans, who suffered greatly as they lost their lands and were shunted off to reservations.
Our world is tortured by conflict and control issues that result in suffering. We have great wealth and resources. Yet, not everyone benefits from them because human greed, hatred, bigotry, untoward and unrestrained passions, negligence, ignorance and apathy result in the injustices of hunger, poverty, abuse, and racism. Those ills lie at our door. We are to blame for much of the suffering in this world!
Although we may not be responsible for inherited predispositions or freak accidents, natural disasters, surprising illnesses, and unexpected deaths, we still philosophize and theorize and seek explanations for suffering beyond the fact that we are fragile earthlings living in a broken world. In the end, there is a big question mark looming, or we face God and who He is! And who we are!
That was Job’s dilemma. When he suffered overwhelming personal losses and felt unjustly treated by God, he self-righteously used imagery of a leaf being blown in the wind to express that God was senselessly wasting God’s time looking for Job’s sins and even dredging up his old youthful indiscretions. “For you write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth “Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?” (Job 13:24-26 (ESV)
The Biblical book of Job is a fascinating story of God and man interacting in life’s physical, intellectual and spiritual realms. Job was so convinced that he was entitled to better treatment that he demanded an audience with God to justify himself and implied that God was harassing, mistreating, and avoiding him. God had made a mistake!! We can relate. We resent suffering. It is ugly and unfair! We cannot make sense of it! We don’t believe that disastrous things should happen to good people. We may feel that suffering is a sign of God’s negligence or disapproval, that He is capable of horrible mistakes. So we are annoyed with God!
Eventually, God gave Job an audience, but it didn’t go as Job thought it would. Not only was Job’s theology challenged, but his character, not God’s, came into question! Instead of giving explanations, God peppered Job with questions about the physical world he inhabited. He was not looking for scientific explanations from Job but wanted him to look beyond the science of his observations and conclusions to the ubiquitous “whys” of the cosmos.
Job “got it”! He was out of his league and had overstepped His bounds. He had neither God’s perspective or power or purposes or knowledge. Worst of all, he realized he had not known the arrogance of his own heart. “Then the LORD said to Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” Then Job replied to the LORD, “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.”(Job 40:1-5(NLT2)
So, God took Job deeper– into thoughts of the moral universe where Job clearly realized that he had no clue about ultimate justice nor did he have the moral make up or authority to judge God or others! And he could not save himself! In remorse, he repented. He was nowhere near as righteous as he supposed! (read Job 40:7-14, Job 42:1-6)
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
It may seem trite to some, and offensive to others, but there will always be “things” beyond human comprehension. “Unjust” suffering is one of those things that casts a shadow and raises doubt in our belief. However, attributing evil to God is a grievous mistake because evil is the antithesis of God’s nature which is holy, pure, good, righteous, faithful, gracious and merciful, steadfast in love, unchanging and eternal. If we look closely, we may get to see the threads of redemption and justice amidst our suffering–forgiveness and reconciliation, a reprioritizing of life issues, a maturing of character with increased compassion or patience or empathy, or the discovery of God and His peace, and a new confidence that God in some way is redeeming our evil situation of suffering. He understands, and He is able! He turned the death of Christ into a glorious resurrection that gives salvation with eternal hope to all humanity who choose to believe.
If atrocities happened to the perfect Son of God, and God suffered but turned hatred into love and made extraordinary good from it, He can enter our circumstances and redeem them with eventual, ultimate justice. That is a beautiful promise and wonderful hope!.
What can be more mind-clearing and reorienting than a brisk walk on a cool fall day to an isolated Maine sand beach where the stark and vast beauty of creation and the salty smell of the sea mingle with the awareness there is One present who knows and cares and has good plans for you! Even the grains of sand are reminders of His care!
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! …” (Psalm 139:7 16-18)
Do you ever wonder what people might be thinking as they sit mesmerized by the rising surf and rhythmic pounding of breakers slamming the rocky coast or by waves gently lapping the shores of an in-land lake or by long, open vistas of plains and mountain and valleys? Do they see beyond the glories of nature as Max Planck (Nobel Prize laureate in Physics) intimated that scientists do? He was quoted as saying, “…we always look for the basic thing behind the dependent thing, for what is absolute behind what is relative, for the reality behind the appearance and for what abides behind what is transitory.”
While observing the powerful workings of nature, the Psalmist heard God’s voice: “Be still, and know that I am God. ( Psalm 46) Unexpectedly being confronted with creation’s glory and “bigness” may induce strong emotions and an awareness of God. But not everyone hears that voice! Atheists have no room for God in their words or their equations and theories about creation. Scientists struggle with interpretive difference about what scientific data means regarding the structure, order and origins of the cosmos. Some Evolutionists and Creationists attempt to find middle ground for the creative process. Philosophers and social scientists probe the development and debate the purposes, ethics, and behaviors of mankind-sometimes from personal bias. But all marvel and desire to know the how and why of the earth and its inhabitants!
Old Testament patriarch and prophets were overwhelmed by the glories of creation and saw them as mighty manifestations of God and his power to save them. (Deuteronomy 10:14, 3326-27) Job discovered the incomparable wisdom of God through consideration of nature.(Job 38-40) Isaiah believed creation to be proof of the existence of God. (Isaiah 40)The Psalmists repeatedly marveled at the strength and orderliness of nature and responded with gratitude and joy because they knew their mighty Creator was steadfast and loving and powerful and could grant them their prayers and forgive their transgressions. (Psalm 65:1-2) And the Apostle Paul said that creation makes plain not only God’s existence but demonstrates His power and divine nature. (Romans 1:19-20)
We are awed and humbled by our vast and magnificent world, but what do we see when we look into the huge expanses of space, or stand before the vast wonders of the earth, or probe the strange world of ocean depths? When Jeremiah looked “for the reality beyond the appearance,” he saw God and exclaimed ,”It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.” (Jeremiah 10:12)
Do we think about the mysteries of a Creator who can form both expansive galaxies and tiny beautiful flowers or engineer the complexities of a human cell and a weird looking fish? Do we look deep beyond the glory and see God’s power, wisdom, and understanding in our surroundings and circumstances?
Maine is a beautiful “kingdom” in a beautiful part of the world. Some of Maine’s allure is buried in Aroostook County’s beautiful, rolling fields which yield their treasures as they begin to produce their fruit: oats and barley, potatoes and broccoli , alfalfa and canola.
In Matthew 13, Jesus told a series of parable about the Kingdom of heaven. Among those stories is a short but profound, one verse parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.( Matthew 13:44)
As with all parables, the intent is that one insert oneself into it and discover the personal application. We easily identify with this one because we are all searching for something that we think will be personally rewarding. King Solomon said that God has set “eternity” in or hearts! So, what could be more rewarding than finding the Kingdom of heaven? It seems we were made for that!
The man in the parable undoubtedly was restless and not quite satisfied. He was seeking something of more value than what he had, something that would bring greater meaning or purpose or joy to his life. Maybe, he didn’t know quite what he was looking for but knew it had to exist and was hidden from him; it was not obvious or identifiable or immediately available.
It isn’t clear how long or how far or how hard this fellow looked for this treasure. Maybe he just stumbled upon it! But we do know the treasure was discovered in a specific field. We do know he was a “man”; so, he had the power to reason and decide and choose. Interestingly, upon discovery, he did not act immediately; he “covered (it)up”; he thought about it, considered it. Then “eureka!” The impact of his discovery hit him. He realized, this was it! This was what he had searched for. It was a treasure of such great proportion that he joyfully gave all that he had to attain it. He gave up his old life for a new one! He had found the kingdom of heaven!
Christian faith is like that, isn’t it? It is a process of search and discovery, of seeking and consideration, of coming to believe not only in God but that he holds the treasures of life. For some, there is a prepared heart that receives the immediate reality and impact of the Gospel’s Good News when it is discovered. For others, faith is a long process of revelation and realization, but Jesus had said at the beginning of his ministry that those who “seek will find”, those who “knock” will have the door opened to them to a kingdom where faith is lived outjoyfully under God’s authority.
The field in this parable is the world, the treasure is the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ once said that one could gain the whole world but lose his soul and that life in the Kingdom is one of self-denial, of taking up one’s cross daily and following Christ, who shows and provides the way into the Kingdom through his teaching and his sacrifice for us. That realization became the reason for our treasure hunter’s commitment.
The Kingdom is waiting to be found by those who will commit to its truths.
Years ago, and many centuries apart, King Solomon (900’s BC) and the Byrd’s ( a 1960’s band) proclaimed the truth that “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) They were poetically repeating what God had promised Noah in the most ancient of times, “While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22)
Maine is blessed with these special seasons of “seed time and harvest” and “summer and winter”. But fall is both magnificent and vitally important. Before the leaves flame out in glorious splendor, we reap the bounty of Spring seeding, the colorful fruits and grains of harvest time.
Earth’s seasons are a metaphor for our lives. It is God’s justice that we will reap fruit from seeds that we sow.(Galatians 6:7-9) That thought is a timely reminder for us in this contentious, reactive culture. Discord will produce discord, offensive words will be met with adverse reactions, and anger and distrust will cause rebellion.
New Testament writers tell us that “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:17-18) Those writers also encourage us to not tire of “doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:7-9)
There will always be differences of opinions and approaches, but tension can be beneficial and result in healthy compromise. However, World Views will clash with little chance of compromise because belief systems do not easily change and because we have difficulty understanding ideologies different from our own or why people think differently than we do. Those interactions are difficult to negotiate because often they are accompanied by pride, disgust or distain. There may not be a whole lot one can personally do to address the divisiveness and contentiousness we are experiencing in our communities, but we can do “good”. We can “sow in peace!” We can acknowledge and respect and help and bless instead of curse. We can follow God’s wisdom: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)
Looking at Mount Desert Island from Sullivan Harbor, Maine
Often when gazing to distant mountains, snippets of Lee Ann Wormack’s popular hit song “I hope you dance” pop into my mind. Of course, the song is typical country music genre and is about chancing love. However, the lyrics speak to a hopeful, enthusiastic approach to life in general! A few of the cherry-picked lyrics are as follows:
“I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance…”/ “Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance…”/ “ I hope you never lose your sense of wonder…”/ “May you never take one single breath for granted”/ “I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean”/ “Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance/“And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance, I hope you dance.”
That is good advice: to step out into life with youthful vigor yet with humility, with a sense of wonder and amazement, with an appreciation for our place in the vastness and beauty of creation, and with faith that there is a purpose for our lives. It encourages one to “go for it”, to pursue our dreams and goals with courage and confidence, to let challenges energize us, and to not let limitations defeat us.
However, on that journey, it soon becomes evident that happiness is not the same as self-discovery and self-fulfillment or what we might consider success. Somewhere and sometime, we will begin to ask ultimate questions just as the Psalmist did. “Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence!What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?” (Psalm 89:47-48)
I have recently seen several lists of four or five “must read” books that presumably teach how to improve one’s life. Sadly, none of the lists included sacred Scripture, where God answers the Psalmist’s and our questions! Christ also spoke to the issue of happiness by declaring that spiritual well-being and happiness are possible despite one’s status or circumstance. What he said remains both as counter-intuitive and as counter-cultural as it was then.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Those are heart transforming attitudes and actions that lead to the distant mountains for which we strive, to the places where one can know both purpose and joy. Jesus said that those qualities will not only bring happiness, but they will make one as salt and light in one’s community. (Matthew 5:3-16) His words require thoughtful consideration because they are the music to which the soul dances.
There is something about a dory that lights up the imagination. These little boats lure us to bygone days which have been romanticized and influenced by lore and art. They draw one to Celtic ballads, Irish fiddling, and tales and tragedies of the hard scrabble life of cod fishing on the Grand Banks; They remind us of the harsh reality of life on the sea and Newfoundland’s struggling hamlets.
They conjure up Winslow Homer paintings of men in weather gear, fighting the elements, balancing their dories against sea swells while pulling nets filled with herring, or rowing their catch of large cod through dark, rough seas back to the distant fishing schooners whose sails always lie on the horizon.
They are reminders of the Galilean fishermen who became Christ’s disciples. Those men faced harsh seas and sudden tempests. They understood hard and sometimes disappointing work. However, when they met Jesus, their world views slowly changed, and the focus of their fishing altered radically. Jesus called them to be “fishers of men”, to no longer net fish into boats but to bring men into God’s Kingdom, where one might have thought they themselves would have been safe from life’s storms. However, their earthly lives darkened with waves of opposition, hatred, and persecution and ended tragically yet triumphantly! Following their Lord and “fishing for men” eventually resulted in their martyrdom or exile. Nevertheless, they persevered with confidence and with an unshakable faith, assured because they had “been with Jesus.”
The Apostle John, who walked with Jesus for three years, captured this thought as he spoke of Jesus:” We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.” (1 John 1:1-4 (NLT2)
These Galilean fishermen were at the beginning of a ground swell that would sweep across nations and centuries. And amazingly, they are still fishing several thousand years later! God continues to use them to explain and proclaim the Gospel and help men and women enter His Kingdom. Even though their boats and nets are long gone, they have left an ongoing legacy for which all believers are grateful. The Church “is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone …” (Ephesians 2:19-22)
James Russel Lowell, lawyer, politician, writer, poet and New Englander, rightfully and wonderfully reminds us of the hope and joy of spring’s renewal with the opening words of his famous poem: “And what is so rare as a day in June?” However, in Maine, (Lowell lived in Southern New England), there is no day rarer than a beautiful , summer day in July or early August. Although fleeting, those days are much anticipated. It is when summer begins (and nearly ends). It is a time of summer fun- vacations, family time, camping, hiking, swimming, picnicking, beaching, backyard grilling and bocce ball, festivals, reunions and sailing!
We enjoy life but are also challenged by it. King Solomon should be our “go to” mentor about life. He had it all to enjoy– unrestricted in wealth, possessions, available work and hobbies, pleasures (wine, women, entertainment), knowledge, privilege and power. But none of that made him a happy man. He determined that his accumulations, aspirations, and achievements meant nothing in the eternal scheme of things… None of it would last. From that perspective, he garnered some principles of living that help guide us into satisfying lives.
First, “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)
Second: “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, “for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment.” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)
The King realized that pleasure and satisfaction comes “from the hand of God”. Sometimes we“toil” too hard for “happiness! A degree from an expensive, prestigious college may mean years of student loan debt. Work stresses and financial demands associated with large homes, multiple cars, boats, and other adult toys mean sacrificing time and investments in important relationships. Life is not meant to be so intense that it becomes burdensome, worrisome, and exhausting, Although there is nothing wrong with improving or bettering oneself or situation, there is the danger of losing focus, of not placing life in the context of God’s purposes. Pleasure seeking becomes folly and futile when achievements, power, privilege, professions, and wealth are our idols. So much of our striving is ultimately “meaningless”. The Psalmist also reminds us to consider this, “Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence!” (Psalm 89:47) We rob ourselves and don’t realize it!
Third: Solomon concluded:”The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
So, our relationship with God is central to happiness! Respect, reverence, recognition of God’s authority and maintaining God’s principles by which to live are not only the “whole duty” of man but are the best, most pleasing way of living. Having good but misguided goals is way too easy. Neglecting God is way too easy! Carving out idols is way too easy! Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, understood this about his people who had given themselves to idolatry. He grieved for them and agonized, “My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken ” because they had recognized their folly too late and lamented, “The harvest is finished, and the summer is gone, yet we are not saved!”(Jeremiah 8:18-22)
July and August in Maine can’t be beat, but the summer passes quickly and suddenly harvest is upon us! Metaphorically this raises a serious question? When our summers have gone and our harvest is finished, what will we have produced? Anything of eternal value? Have we just entertained the idea of God or have we included Him in our lives? Have we discovered that God cares enough about us to redeem us and that He is the ultimate source of all that is good and, therefore, our happiness? Do we realize that “for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”
Another awe filled Downeast sunrise brings thoughts of Creator God and how beautifully He reveals Himself to us..
“For what can be known about God is plain (to people) because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they (people) are without excuse.”( Romans 1:19-20)
That statement affirms the Psalmist’s ageless poetry declaring that God is everywhere revealed to all people through creation:
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” (Psalm 19:1-6)
The song continues to builds into thoughts of how one can know God and His purposes for us.
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward…” (Psalm 19:7-14)
That God’s revealed Word revives the soul, brings wisdom to one’s life, rejoices the heart, and enlightens the mind are bold and powerful assertions that run throughout both Old and New Testaments.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
Furthermore, and even more breathtaking than discerning human faults and bringing wisdom to life, Scripture offers a redemptive solution for our sinful souls. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)
Such claims are quite unprecedented and unique , have persisted for thousands of years, have changed the lives of millions, and do warrant thoughtful consideration and evaluation by each of us during all the sunrises that we will ever have!
Sweet Words from Maine 