Ears to Hear and Eyes to See

We had a great vacation in Florida. The thing about Florida in the summer time is that it is wet. You are either sweating because it is so hot and humid or you are being rained on. A thundershower in central Florida is nothing to fool with and if you are smart, you will pay attention to what is going on around you. On a Sunday while we were there, a man was struck by lightning while playing soccer after church. He died, a tragedy that is common enough in this part of the country. The last time we were in Florida, we had a boat and were out on Tampa Bay for a day of tubing and skiing. I was paying close attention to the weather signs and sure enough everything was pointing to an upcoming storm. Because we were on the water, we could see a storm from pretty far off and even ones that were not headed our way. This one was headed toward us and I told Julie and the kids it was time to go. They balked and said that it would blow over or go around us and we should be fine. Despite my better judgment, we stayed on the water until the storm was on us. We went as fast as our boat would go to port. I had Jacob hold down the throttle while I tried to secure our bimini (the metal and tarp cover that blocks the sun), only to have the storm winds rip into it, breaking the aluminum poles that held it up. We got to the pier and everyone got into the truck while I secured the boat in the middle of a thunderstorm.

This time while we were at the beach, I saw a storm approaching (a common event), but it was approaching in a way that to me was threatening. I told the kids it was time to go and to pack up. They protested and went to Julie for support. She said, "Nope, I doubted your dad once when it comes to storms and I won't do it again. Remember when we were out on the boat?" And she told the story from our last trip. By the time we got in our van, the clouds had opened up with thunder and lightning accompanying it. We remained safe because we paid attention to what was going on around us.

I tell this story to open up the discussion about General Revelation. We are familiar with the Special or Specific Revelation of God through His Word, but we do not spend a great deal of time talking about the other ways God communicates to His creation. Like the storm that was giving signs that it was coming and those signs were important to pay attention to, so does God communicate His love, grace, and hope, and if we will pay attention, we can be witnesses to this.

This summer we will try and pay attention to the signs that God gives to reveal Himself and His truths. As Craig Detweiler did on our retreat, discussing television, music and film, we will look at medium that impacts us on a daily basis: literature, relationships, architecture and nature. We will search for signs that God is working and communicating His grace and love to the world.

 

This week we will look at stories, narrative, literature. Summer is a time for reading good books. What are you reading and what is it about what you are reading that made you choose the book and why did you finish it. What was it that drew you in and kept you engaged? What are your friends and coworkers reading? Do you wonder why certain books are popular and others are not? What did you come up with when you ask these questions?

Please comment on this blog site or shoot me an email and I will post it for you.

 

Also you are all invited to join me on a tour of City Lights Book Store in North Beach. We will meet this Saturday, July 19th at 11 am to browse, then grab some lunch and discuss what we saw. Also come Sunday night ready to discuss this during our worship service and afterwards for some dinner and discussion.

Saturday July 25^th from 10-2: Join Luke, Courtney and Burton from Inner Change's Outer Circle to discuss community and relationships. Please contact me if you plan on attending.

Saturday August 1^st. The Architecture of the City, TBA

Saturday August 8^th, Nature Hike TBA

 

Some things to read in the meantime if you want to go deeper regarding General Revelation are Into The Dark, Craig Detweiler; and Simply Christian, NT Wright. If you have suggestions please include them.

 

Peace

Edwin