Of All That Is
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Five Useful Things,
New In the Last 50 Years,
and a Stapler
(older than 50 years).
Can You Name Them?
Psalm 89:12-13
The north and the south—you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
Colossians 1:16-17
for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Words of Grace For Today
As exciting as it is to read of new sub-atomic discoveries and theories of how matter is constructed, and that anti-matter must exist … and
As exciting as it is to see new photos of new galaxies, stars and planets, even planets in stable orbits around two stars, and to read of more discoveries about the universe and its origins … and
As exciting as it is to read about and be able to use new discoveries and technologies that give us new and useful products for daily living, like oscillating saws, instant oatmeal, microwaves, heat pumps, hydrogen and/or electric vehicles, computers, cell phones, LED screens, LED lights, and crazy glue (just to name a few things that have become staples for many people over the last 50 years) …
There is no discovery yet that explains the whole universe in all it’s order or rather orders and in all its variations and samenesses, and in its chaos and disorder.
It is tempting, as humans have for all of our history, to turn to our concepts of ‘God’ to explain only the inexplicable, and say that there is no complete explanation for the universe this is ‘proof’ that God must exist.
The saner turn of thought is to accept the reality that if God exists (and we do so believe) and if God created the whole universe and all that is in it (and we do so believe) then:
All that we discover in and about the universe is made possible by God’s creating the universe in such a manner, and by God’s creating us in such a manner
so that: we can discover order and explanations for things that exist –
so that: we can invent new things that are of great usefulness to us –
so that: we can imagine wondrous things (such as Tatooine orbiting around binary suns), and later discover that they are actually things that exist in the universe
so that: we see God in all that is and all that is possible for us to imagine and to discover and to use well.
Take crazy glue. It is so good at mending broken skin, so much so that medical variations of it are used now in surgery to replace stitches and even to hold tissues together that stitches cannot. Yet when used as a regular glue, at least my attempts prove, it fails as a glue more often than not.
Thus perhaps a helpful analogy is that God is the ‘glue’ that holds the universe together, that holds us together, a ‘glue’ that is so much better at its purpose than crazy glue, a ‘glue’ that is perfect and a ‘glue’ that created everything in the beginning as well.
Now to ‘discover’ and ‘use’ that ‘glue’ would be more than a little exciting. That would bring us to break out in a joyous shout of amazement. So it is for Tabor and Hermon and countless people through all time, and even me and you today (again) to break out in joyous praise and wonder at all God has made and is
for and with us even today.
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…
…
… now back to the top for the answer
to what are the five useful things in the photo, besides the stapler, that are new in the last 50 years. Actually the miniature stapler is new in the last 50 years, just not the plain old stapler. –
…
ready?
- crazy glue
- coloured and clear plastic, stick on, page markers, dispensed in serial
- floss – now replaced by floss sticks-picks
- the plastic mat under everything
(the stapler, but it does not count for this quiz and, finally,) - the LED flashlight providing the light (a tricky, hidden thing, but what fun is a ‘find everything in the photo’ without something tricky, not unlike the whole universe, or?)
…
Notice the shadow. Everything has a dark side, eh!
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Oh, And Happy Father’s Day,
now if the kids would just be in contact, it would make my day!