Among the small but endlessly abundant and therefore very effective things that science ought to heed more than the great, rare things, is goodwill. I mean those expressions of a friendly disposition in interactions, that smile of the eye, those handclasps…it is the continual manifestation of our humanity, it’s ray of light..in which everything grows.
~ Unknown
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.
~ from Psalm 19
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your Holy One see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
~ from Psalm 16
Oh beloved, it is true. There is a strategy that the evil one uses. It is simple. And it is deadly.
The liar, the devil, the Satan will accuse us, harass us, beat on us, and tempt us. He cannot actually put anything new into us. There is no creative ability in evil. Evil can only stir up the failures that already exist in a man. But, if and when we fail, the tempter will not rest. He turns the tables, and plays the accuser.
Oh, the schemes go on and on. There will be an end to them, but they seem to last forever (this is but another lie from the father of lies). But, even in the multitude of tactics, there is only one strategy. And this is to get each of us cut away from the people that make us strong – and in our isolation – to kill us.
So, it is helpful for us to see this strategy for what it is. All of the strange fire that erupts around us is not something new. It is a distraction to pull us away from the only Light there really is. And when we allow ourselves to be pulled off the path He has for us, we don’t find anything fulfilling or new. All we find is ourselves, and realize again that alone is a very bad place to be.
One of the schemes of the liar’s world is to try and convince people that there really is NO path or G_d to find. It seems that this scheme is created to inflame our own sense of importance and/or to invoke the utter hopelessness that comes when we find out how insignificant we really are, apart from a personal Creator.
Often, the scheme works. People, including this fool of a writer for many years, attempt to dull the pain with chemicals or images or sloth or food. It never works, but we go on into destruction trying to just stop hurting a little as we slide down the sharp rocks in the gullies off the path of Real Life.
However, as was mentioned above, evil cannot create. It can only wreak destruction and distortion of the good. But even in the ashes of this world, there are icons that point us to the Truth. We see around us, even in our despair, that Good does exist – we are drenched in it actually. And we find that the pain of the isolation the evil one attempts to foist on us, instead drives us towards relationship.
Even one of the most poignant atheists, Carl Sagan, has an alien character speak in his book, Contact, “You’re an interesting species. An interesting mix. You’re capable of such beautiful dreams, and such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you’re not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we’ve found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other.”
Yeah, even honest atheists understand that if there is nothing beyond us, we are to be pitied. And in this way, guys like Sagan actually agreed with guys like Paul, the apostle, in seeing the need for resurrection and life beyond just this one.
Can we see it? It is more than just the need for connection, though. It is the reality that a human is not really human in isolation. A human only really lives when both possessed by – and in possession of – the G_d who made him. And Satan’s strategy to isolate, only brings this truth into sharper relief. In fact, our Creator is pressing in on us, and His Great Love is the only real thing there is.
So, are you feeling the devil pulling at you? Do you feel the accuser launching his tirades? Are you thinking that pulling off to the side of the Path is looking like a good option? Remember, all of this is nothing new. Nothing he offers will work, and the farther you get away from G_d, the more you will see how unworkable any options the liar offers really are.
Tonight is your night beloved. Time to live in communion with your Creator.
