Monthly Archives: October 2012

Forceful Winds

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It’s been quite a week for the eastern third of our country. Hurricane Sandy has caused billions in damages and took more than 50 lives. Even knowing ahead of time the storm was on its way didn’t give people the capacity to avoid disaster. Human beings are no match for the violent forces of nature.

Even where I live, on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, 1000 miles from the east coast, Sandy stirred up 55 mph winds and 20’ waves. Louisa and I could barely stay on our feet as we collected our beach chairs at the waterfront before they could blow away.

Wind is an interesting phenomenon. Though it’s invisible, we have no trouble seeing what it does. Scripture sometimes uses wind as a symbol for God’s Spirit. When the disciples first received this 3rd member of the Trinity, he came into their room via the sound of a “violent wind,” which eventually empowered them to work miracles and save souls for Christ.

God factored into that important occurrence of wind, but does he have anything to do with the wild winds of Hurricane Sandy? If he created the world and set the forces of nature in motion, why does he allow such uncontrolled weather to harm people, places, and things when he could stop it with a word? Scripture tells us stormy winds “do his bidding,” (Psalm 148:8, Luke 8:25), and we’ve seen Jesus demonstrate that. (Mark 4:39)

We also learn that God has storehouses full of wind (Psalm 135:7), he rides on the wind (Psalm 104:3), and he uses wind as his messenger (Psalm 104:4). If the wind is his messenger, what is his message? What, if anything, has he been trying to say through the mayhem of Sandy?

No natural disaster occurs without God hoping the losses and damage will prompt people to turn to him, especially those who’ve never been interested in him in the past. To them he offers the fresh wind of his Spirit, who is willing to come into their lives and rescue them. He hopes the intense needs left in the wake of a hurricane will bring them close to him.

And for those of us who already know him, he uses natural disasters in two ways: (1) as a tool to blow away our stale faith the way cool breezes clean out a room, and (2) as momentum for us to help others in trouble.

When Louisa and I tried to walk at the beach this week, the force of Sandy’s winds pushed us into an involuntary run. The power to move fast didn’t come from within us but from the driving energy behind us, and that’s exactly how the Spirit hopes to forcefully move in all of our lives… if only we’ll let him.

“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.” (John 3:8)

Stressful Firsts?

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Emerald Louisa Nyman is only 4 days old, which means she’s had virtually no life experiences, and not much thought-life. Her miniature cerebral cortex is probably smooth, since rivulets and ridges come as a result of thinking hard and solving problems. (Pardon the over-simplification.)

As with all of us, the cerebral cortex plays an important role in remembering, paying attention, thinking, and language. Emerald has precious few reference points for any of that, which means her young life will be a succession of firsts for a long time to come. So, even though she’s only 4 days old, we decided to facilitate a few baby brain wrinkles today by taking her on her first shopping trip.

Because of that, it turned out to be a day of firsts for our little one: first journey away from home, first wind in her face, first rainstorm, first time in fleece outerwear, first trip to a store, first admiration from strangers, and on and on it went. Were we over-rivuleting her brain with too many firsts?

Probably not.

That’s because Emerald came equipped with God’s built-in defense system against brain overload. She ended up dozing through the entire excursion, oblivious to the long list of firsts unfolding all around her.

Something similar happens in our Christian lives, even those of us whose brains are well-wrinkled from years of problem solving. When we first come to know the Lord, our spiritual cerebral cortexes are smooth and inexperienced. We accept salvation much like a child, at face value and without question. As time passes, though, our understanding of God and his Word grows, generating questions that force us to use (and sometimes over-use) our spiritual gray matter.

When difficulties grow too big to manage, the word “why” comes up, and our brains go into spiritual overdrive. Circumstances often make no logical sense, so we over-think them and can’t understand why God won’t reveal the A -to-Z plans he has in mind, why he only gives the A and B.

We wear ourselves out holding onto the what-if scenarios that haven’t happened yet, when it might be wiser to follow Emerald’s example. If she’d been aware of the long list of firsts we had planned for her today, she would have stressed her new smooth cerebral cortex to the limit. As it was, she rested in the familiar security of her mommy’s arms and probably didn’t undergo any cerebral furrowing at all.

God must shake his head in amazement as he watches us waste time and brain power stressing over things that haven’t happened yet and probably never will. He’d rather see us relax and trust him to handle future details in the right way and time.

Meanwhile, just like Birgitta kept Emerald safe in her arms, God wants to carry us, too.

“I am he who will sustain you. I have made you, and I will carry you.” (Isaiah 46:4)

The Power of Love

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Those of us who are mothers know the sacrificial nature of mother-love. As I watch Birgitta relate to her 3-day-old infant Emerald, I’m reminded again of this potent emotion and what it looks like. For a 22 year old single mom, as for most new moms, it translates to a happy willingness to suffer for her child: inconvenience, sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, lack of a shower, and always putting self last. Birgitta’s love for her little girl is a 1 Corinthians 13 love for sure.

From J. B. Phillips New Testament translation, her love…

  • is slow to lose patience (i.e. never)
  • looks for a way to be constructive (and how to handle Emerald best)
  • is not possessive (willingly shares Emerald with the rest of us)
  • isn’t anxious to impress (by bragging)
  • doesn’t have an inflated idea of her own importance (never complaining about fatigue or lack of time for herself)
  • has good manners (treats her little one with respect and kindness)
  • does not pursue selfish advantage (feeds her first)
  • isn’t touchy (tries to understand the need behind baby’s fussing)
  • doesn’t keep account of evil (by dismissing the criticisms of others)
  • is glad when truth prevails (and thankful when others see her child as the blessing she is)
  • knows no limit to its endurance (smiles at Emerald, despite exhaustion)
  • knows no end to its trust (being sure God will help her to be a good mom)
  • knows no fading of its hope (expecting the best of her mother-daughter relationship)
  • can outlast anything! (and never fade)

Acting this way toward Emerald seems easy for Birgitta. It’s what she wants to do more than anything else. But 1 Corinthians 13 wasn’t meant just for new moms, and using it in other contexts isn’t always that easy. God’s intention is for us to act in the above ways in all circumstances and toward all people.

In other words, he wants us to sacrificially love everyone. That includes those who rub us the wrong way or bring us grief and even those we’d classify as our enemies, which is a great deal more difficult than loving a newborn. First Corinthians 13 also tells us that no matter what accomplishments we make in life, no matter how righteous our attitudes or deeds, if our M.O. isn’t love we’ve done nothing worthy of praise.

Those are strong words we’ll spend a lifetime trying to live up to. But while we’re trying, I know one new mom and baby who might be a powerful inspiration.

“Love is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)