John 3:1-21 states
1. Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Nicodemus comes searching in the night for answers. And Jesus reveals to him, the very thing that scares him the most. It would expose him as a fraud. He has lived in the world around him pretending to be an expert in religion. He has probably preached to and converted a thousand souls. He has obtained through years of dedication his stature amongst his peers and his community.
Yet, Jesus tells him that he knows nothing of the truth. He knows nothing of what he claims to be an expert. Jesus ends laying out to Nicodemus that he has an option to bring everything into the light.
The world would say that stature and power give life.
But here, Jesus shows that eternal life begins when we expose our true selves. When the iron sharpens the iron of our souls. When the loving father casts us out to be disciplined, because we have been chosen for a purpose. When our reputations built by our own hands, are willingly sacrificed, so that our character can be let free to grow in strength. When despite being in the midst of a lion's den we are not devoured. When we face our greatest fear and lose everything we have worked so tirelessly to build, only to start over in the light. For it is when we are reborn, children of the light, that Jesus says to us to come forth to him. "Make way for the children", Jesus calls, as he begins to battle on your behalf. And that is the moment, when we look to him, that the poison that has entangled us loses its power. And only then, can we truly experience life.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Thursday, April 2, 2015
From Where Does the Wind Come?
I love exploring our known world. The more we explore, the more marvelous it becomes. The more we look, the more we realize there is so much we haven't seen. What was shown to us right before our eyes, we haven't seen. What was told to us right within ear shot, we haven't heard.
Take for instance, the tower of Babylon, described in Genesis 11:4-9.
4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel--because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
A tower to reach the heavens. Man did the best he could, to build a tower to the heavens and he didn't even leave the Earth. He fell infinitely short!
Louie Giglio stated, "Scientists say our solar system is the size of a quarter and our milky way is the size of the north america continent!"
And today. What do we see today? We can clone sheep. We can artificially inseminate. We have cars that can drive from Northern California to Southern California by themselves!
But our chemical detection is no where near what our tongue is capable of. Our image detection is no where near what our eyes are capable of. The best pitch detection algorithms don't even come close to what the human ear is capable of. I could go on and on about how absolutely fascinating creation is. But I will end with this point: the neural networks of our time, might play checkers or chess, but they are like a tower of Bablyon in the known universe compared to what the human brain is capable of.
Will our artificial intelligence ever come close to the Mozarts and Beethovens? Our Einsteins and Newtons? Our Shakespeares and our Henry David Thoreaus?
All of creation points back to how glorious our God is. We are built to explore to discover and let us continue! But in each miraculous discovery, let us marvel at the beauty held within. And even more so, let us use the physical to point to the unseen emotional and spiritual implications.
And what of Einstein? I once watched a movie where scientists, with all of their theorems and intelligence, filled chalkboards describing the physics of our world. Einstein walked into the room, erased it all and wrote "E=mc2". Likewise, all of the religious leaders would debate over how to be the most holy, the most pure. And Jesus would come along, erase all the laws and rules and debates, giving us two things to focus on.
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
We can plant a seed in the ground, but we still rely on God to allow the seed to grow. We may be able to artificially inseminate but we still rely on the power of God to create the miracle of life.
Our logic, while it has its place, cannot describe what our emotions and spirit tell us. Our science, while it has its place, changes year after year. The Earth was once flat according to scientific truth. The Earth was once the center of our solar system according to scientific truth. There was once nine planets in our solar system according to scientific truth. Science contains information about what we have discovered, hence it is limited to what we have discovered. A computer cannot retain its state. A teacher cannot teach a student what he does not have himself.
John 3:1-21 states this:
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." 3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." 9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. 10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going." This is phenomenal. I love it. The Clay Math Institute has a set of seven problems, all of which if solved, yield a reward of a million dollars. One of these is the Navier-Stokes equations. If you can figure out the fluid dynamics behind wind, you can not only save lives by predicting turbulence that has historically caused many airplane crashes, but you could make a million dollars in the process. But alas, our science is a mere tower of Babylon compared to the miraculous wonder of nature. All of our science and all of the brilliant minds across the planet still cannot explain where the wind comes from or where it is going.
I was meditating on this concept of wind as I listened to the sounds of a delicate stream. It gave me a new gratitude for the wind. For without the wind, blowing a cool breeze across my skin, I might have been scorched by the heat of the sun.
Take for instance, the tower of Babylon, described in Genesis 11:4-9.
4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel--because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
A tower to reach the heavens. Man did the best he could, to build a tower to the heavens and he didn't even leave the Earth. He fell infinitely short!
Louie Giglio stated, "Scientists say our solar system is the size of a quarter and our milky way is the size of the north america continent!"
And today. What do we see today? We can clone sheep. We can artificially inseminate. We have cars that can drive from Northern California to Southern California by themselves!
But our chemical detection is no where near what our tongue is capable of. Our image detection is no where near what our eyes are capable of. The best pitch detection algorithms don't even come close to what the human ear is capable of. I could go on and on about how absolutely fascinating creation is. But I will end with this point: the neural networks of our time, might play checkers or chess, but they are like a tower of Bablyon in the known universe compared to what the human brain is capable of.
Will our artificial intelligence ever come close to the Mozarts and Beethovens? Our Einsteins and Newtons? Our Shakespeares and our Henry David Thoreaus?
All of creation points back to how glorious our God is. We are built to explore to discover and let us continue! But in each miraculous discovery, let us marvel at the beauty held within. And even more so, let us use the physical to point to the unseen emotional and spiritual implications.
We strive for perfection and yet, we fall infinitely short! All of our work and efforts, yet we rely on God's grace daily, hourly, by the second.
And what of Einstein? I once watched a movie where scientists, with all of their theorems and intelligence, filled chalkboards describing the physics of our world. Einstein walked into the room, erased it all and wrote "E=mc2". Likewise, all of the religious leaders would debate over how to be the most holy, the most pure. And Jesus would come along, erase all the laws and rules and debates, giving us two things to focus on.
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
We can plant a seed in the ground, but we still rely on God to allow the seed to grow. We may be able to artificially inseminate but we still rely on the power of God to create the miracle of life.
Our logic, while it has its place, cannot describe what our emotions and spirit tell us. Our science, while it has its place, changes year after year. The Earth was once flat according to scientific truth. The Earth was once the center of our solar system according to scientific truth. There was once nine planets in our solar system according to scientific truth. Science contains information about what we have discovered, hence it is limited to what we have discovered. A computer cannot retain its state. A teacher cannot teach a student what he does not have himself.
John 3:1-21 states this:
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." 3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." 9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. 10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going." This is phenomenal. I love it. The Clay Math Institute has a set of seven problems, all of which if solved, yield a reward of a million dollars. One of these is the Navier-Stokes equations. If you can figure out the fluid dynamics behind wind, you can not only save lives by predicting turbulence that has historically caused many airplane crashes, but you could make a million dollars in the process. But alas, our science is a mere tower of Babylon compared to the miraculous wonder of nature. All of our science and all of the brilliant minds across the planet still cannot explain where the wind comes from or where it is going.
I was meditating on this concept of wind as I listened to the sounds of a delicate stream. It gave me a new gratitude for the wind. For without the wind, blowing a cool breeze across my skin, I might have been scorched by the heat of the sun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)