By John Grant
Week Twenty-Three, 2018
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. – Psalm 19:1
It was a cold, dark night as we stood there in freezing cold, with a thirty knot wind in our face. We waited and suddenly they appeared showing the glory of God’s creation.
The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as ‘Aurora borealis’
The temperature above the surface of the sun is millions of degrees. At this temperature, collisions between gas molecules are frequent and explosive. Free electrons and protons are thrown from the sun’s atmosphere by the rotation of the sun and escape through holes in the magnetic field.
Traveling at tremendous speed the discharge from the sun still takes about eighteen hours to reach the earth’s atmosphere. We live in a time when our knowledge of the heavens is expanding quickly. Our knowledge should lead us to praise God for His amazing provision and protection.
As I got back on the bus and headed back to town, I thought of how creative God is and how magnificent his creation is. You can see it in the Northern Lights and also in the smile of a new born baby. His creation all around us. The Bible tells us that God has left clues of Himself everywhere and they’re not hidden. They are right out in the open where every human being can find them.
The God who made the world and everything in it, this master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes us; we don’t make Him. Praise Him and praise the glory of His magnificent creation.
***
SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
THE DIAMONDS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU:
In his book, Acres of Diamonds, Russell Cromwell tells the story of a man named Ali Hafed, a farmer who had lived on his farm for years with his wife and children. He had health and peace and was content with his life. Until one day a priest visited and talked of “diamonds” sparkling like a million suns, the most beautiful things in all the world.
And Ali Hafed became discontented with what he had and sold his farm, left his wife and children with a friend and set out to find diamonds. For then, he thought, he would be rich. Then he would be happy and content with his life.
He searched the world over, looking for white sands and tall mountains, but found no diamonds. Until one day, broken, destitute, unable to see his family again, in a fit of utter despair and discontent with his life, he threw himself into the sea and died.
Meanwhile, the man who had bought Ali Hafed’s farm when he left, spotted an odd-looking chunk of black rock, took it home, put it on the mantle, and thought no more of it. Until one day that same priest came along, looked at it and saw a brilliant flash of light emitting from a crack in that rock. Something shiny, something beautiful lay beneath that rough exterior.
A diamond. And more and more diamonds were found there in an area. This became the greatest diamond mine in all the world, and produced diamonds used in the Crown Jewels of England, Russia and Persia.
Right there on the very property that Ali Hafed had sold to begin his search for contentment and riches. Right beneath his very feet, the richest diamond mine in the world, and he didn’t even know it. He’d searched the world over to find contentment in life, to find meaning in life. Always looking somewhere else, and all he found was frustration, disappointment, heartache, despair, failure and ultimately death.
We may know people like that. Spending years of their lives in all kinds of pursuits of success, pleasure, fame and wealth-in an effort to find happiness and contentment. When it’s right beneath their very feet, in their own backyard. If only they would look. If only they would believe that we are each something beautiful created by God and can find our purpose in life right where we are in whom He created us to be.
***
QUOTES YOU CAN USE
A thought to remember: we can never un-ring a bell or take back a word, spoken or written, or any action we make in our daily journey of life. Be diligent because someone is watching. General Dick Abel
None of us know how long we have. What we do know is we have the ability to unwrap any ugliness layer by layer until we find the collateral goodness underneath. Kathy Merlino
It’s not my commitment to Jesus that saves me. It’s Jesus commitment to me that saves me. Ken Whitten.
***
Selected portions of Thoughts on Life can also be read at TheLife.com.
Your feedback is welcome and if you want to be taken off the mailing list a simple e-mail will do it. Feel free to pass this along to others and to contribute your ideas and thoughts. Address all items and comments to [email protected]. © Thoughts on Life Copyright 2018
©2018 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618