My granddaughter loves butterflies, so I've made her a couple of videos using a butterfly motif. Most of us love sunsets, mountains, the smells and sounds as well as the beauty of the Oregon coast. My wife loves horses. She thinks they are the most beautiful of animals. No one would be surprised if we called all of these masterpieces. They are all from the hand of God. You and I are also created by God, whether we want to admit it or not. I was amused when someone told me what separates us from animals is our thumb. He was amused when I answered what separates us from animals is our spirit.
We are all alike and we are all different, but we all have a spirit. Some of us may deny it and work hard to justify ourselves. Some of us realize it; understanding that matter alone cannot evolve into the butterflies my little Autumn loves so much.
We are all alike and we are all different, but we all have a spirit. Some of us may deny it and work hard to justify ourselves. Some of us realize it; understanding that matter alone cannot evolve into the butterflies my little Autumn loves so much.
Those of us who admire, not worship, the beauty of the earth and its creatures recognize there is a great designer, but some of us are startled when God says that we too are marvelous, beautiful, a masterpiece. Paul says this in Ephesians 2:8-10. I am not denying the unbelievable intricacy of the human body, but Paul is writing about our spirit.
The New Revised Standard Version says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." Not only does faith separate us from the animals in this world, it separates us from each other. It determines whether we are self-directed, determining what is good or bad in our own minds, or whether we understand God is the ultimate authority.
Shortly after delivering Moses and his people from Egypt, God said, "Choose." Since then we have been blaming God for the consequences of our choices.
In a nutshell this is the difference between humanism and Christianity. Both are made up of people. History reveals the Church, not God, has caused much suffering. The present reveals the results of humanism; a celebrity worshipping culture where the media decides what is good and bad. As much as things change, human nature remains the same.
The local church is important, but it pales in importance compared to whether or not you have been to Calvary. What God did for us there is called grace. It is the foundation of salvation. Faith is the process that determines how effective God's grace is in our lives. Once Paul established a church he continued to stir up the process of faith and wrote that we should stir ourselves up.
Lily likes the movie Sleepless in Seattle. I confess I like the part where the little boy talks to the shrink on the radio station and also the part where the men are comparing movies. In responding to life after his wife's death Tom Hanks says something to the effect of taking one breath, one day at a time.
Those who claim to soar like an eagle in their faith remind me of the impetuous, passionate Peter. The local church can help, but sustainability requires more than a Sabbath celebration. It requires taking one breath at a time and one day at a time. It requires a continuous reminder that despite what my eyes see, despite what I may hear from other people and despite what I feel, I am marvelous, a masterpiece, and more than a butterfly in God's eyes.
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