Last night my dog died. He was old and it wasn't totally unexpected. The last few months his health had been deteriorating. It was still hard to see it happen though.
When I checked on him for the last time last night, he was struggling to breath, but still alive though he seemed unable to control any of his limbs or do anything more than just breath waiting for the inevitable. My other younger dog mostly kept her distance, except for letting out a few barks at the great unseen enemy that came for its due.
All this caused me to consider Romans 8:20, and how God subjected creation to corruption, not willingly but in hope. One day there will be a new earth, with no more death in the animal kingdom, no more pain and suffering. He allowed man to fall and as a result all creation was subject to these things, but it was not done purely punitively but in hope of the better world to come. Sometimes we can't see clearly now, but one day we will see that every suffering here that this creation must undergo will be more than made up for with joy in the new and perfect creation that God will make. May God grant that we all see it!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Contrast of Words
This morning I was reading in Proverbs and I came upon this verse. Proverbs 18:8, “The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts.”
Some translations go on a Jewish tradition and translate “dainty morsels” as wounds, but the actual text is dainty morsels. Wounds are received against the will, but delicacies are only too readily swallowed down. Gossip is often received without any hesitation as to its truth or falsehood, and yet it goes down into the mind and heart and changes human relationships forever. This is the negative power of words.
The words of the wise however are like goads and fastened nails (Ecc. 12:11). They encourage us and prod us along when we become complacent and provide stability and structure just like a well placed nail does in a frame. The source of these wise words is the One Shepherd – God, who gives wisdom to the wise.
Our words are important, do we speak from our own spirit or repeat what others have said, or do we speak what God gives us to say? Christ judged righteously and not by the hearing of His ear or the sight of His eye, and we should do the same.
Some translations go on a Jewish tradition and translate “dainty morsels” as wounds, but the actual text is dainty morsels. Wounds are received against the will, but delicacies are only too readily swallowed down. Gossip is often received without any hesitation as to its truth or falsehood, and yet it goes down into the mind and heart and changes human relationships forever. This is the negative power of words.
The words of the wise however are like goads and fastened nails (Ecc. 12:11). They encourage us and prod us along when we become complacent and provide stability and structure just like a well placed nail does in a frame. The source of these wise words is the One Shepherd – God, who gives wisdom to the wise.
Our words are important, do we speak from our own spirit or repeat what others have said, or do we speak what God gives us to say? Christ judged righteously and not by the hearing of His ear or the sight of His eye, and we should do the same.
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