Come Closer

From space, Earth appears as a serene blue marble, reflecting the sunlight. So pleasant and inviting. Come closer, though, to find wars, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and mudslides. Social Media. From an arm's length away, we can imagine a neat and tidy world. But come closer to witness complexity: tradeoffs, unintended consequences, winners and losers, oppressors and the oppressed, the secure and the vulnerable, those we help and those we ignore. May we have the courage to let Reality invade our personal space. It's okay to feel discomfort and uncertainty. It's a cost of caring and being more genuinely helpful.

Climate

Relative Humidity requires interpretation. The amount of moisture in saturated (100% relative humidity) warm air is significantly greater than in saturated cold air. We need context. Sweater or swelter? The same is true of Scripture. Paul's efforts to leaven culture in the first century and elevate low-caste people could be misinterpreted with 21st-century eyes as the opposite, an endorsement of structural entitlement. We need to discern the climate.

Miracle

What is a miracle? For some, everything's a miracle. For others, a miracle is rare, something only a few of us may ever witness. The Greek word for miracle in Scripture is dynamis (dunamis). It shares a root with our English word dynamite. Miracles are evidence of God's limitless power. What do we encounter that lies beyond human agency or explanation? Is that a miracle? God's mighty power in view?