A Man’s Journey Through Grief – The Candid Memoir of a Jesus-Follower’s Struggles to Rebuild His Life after His Wife’s Death
Some of us are fortunate enough to have a loving spouse who has been beside us for decades. That has been my case. Mary Helen and I fell in love and deepened that love for 61 years until God called her home to heaven. During the last year and a half of her life, I had the privilege of caring for her in our home–which was her preferred choice.
But then God called her home to heaven. During the year following her home-going, I tried to deal with my grief by writing about the unaccustomed tears and loneliness that waylaid me. It seemed so unmanly. I soon discovered that I was not alone. When I posted episodes on Facebook about my struggles, many responded with their own stories of grief. I realized that telling my story might help others cope. And so I published a year of my journey with candid suggestions of my attempts to rebuild my life. The book is available world-wide through Amazon.
Recently Heidi McLaughlin and her team at http://www.heartconnection.ca facilitated an interview about the book and my experiences.
Click the link below to access a recording of the interview of Eric E. Wright
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
FIVE During the fifth day, (vs20-23) God said, “let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth.” Three-fourth of the earth is covered with oceans. At creation, God divided our planet into three distinct spheres, land, sea and air and for each he created creatures, in each case in vast numbers with great variety.
The abundance is mind-boggling. A single herring can produce 68,000 eggs while a carp, 200,00 and a cod as high as four to nine million. It is estimated that one pair of robins could produce 19,5000,000 offspring in ten years is there were no predators. In the seas, microscopic plankton do what plants do on earth; in this case absorbing inorganic chemicals from the sea water and converting them into organic food for sea creatures. They reproduce at such a prodigious rate that they would eventually fill the seas if other creatures had not been created simultaneously to feed on them. (Ibid p. 156, 157,179)
The sea is full of strange wonders from the vast coral reefs of Australia to starfish, shrimp, sharks, and the vast varieties of fish that cruise the oceans or spawn in our rivers. Imagine the archer fish shooting a stream of water with such accuracy that it brings down an insect flying above for supper. Consider octopuses and squid that move by jet propulsion. Or electric eels that shock their prey before devouring them. The whirligig beetle carries a bubble of air attached to its tail allowing it to dive under water while the water spider makes a diving bell of a silken sheet filled with bubbles of air. Whales, the monsters of the sea, measure 50 to 150 feet in length and attain a possible weight of 150 tons and require a ton of food daily.
There are approximately 9000 species of birds that propagate by means of eggs. The egg itself is a marvel, as are the variety of nests, the adaptation of the birds, for example the shape of their bills, their ability to navigate and migrate. The hummingbird will migrate 5000 miles which includes a non-stop flight over the Gulf of Mexico. The bobolink migrate to the pampas of Argentina, an 18,000 round trip.
What about the speed of these living aircraft? Mallards fly at about 30 to 40 miles and hour; homing pigeons, 90. Have you ever watched the antics of the living helicopter, the hummingbird as it hovers, flies backward and forward, up and down?
I’ll leave you to wonder how plankton, whales, and all the other myriad species of the oceans and air, which are so interdependent, could have evolved separately over vast spaces of time. No, God spoke on the fifth day and they were created.
The Psalmist waxes poetic in praise:
How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all:
The earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number
—living things both large and small.
There the ships go to and fro
And the leviathan,
which you formed to frolic thee. (Psalm 104: 24-26)
SIX During the sixth day “God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so.”
God created livestock, cattle, sheep, and goats; creeping things such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles. He also created wild animals as diverse as kangaroos and beavers, lions and chipmunks. In number, insects at between six and ten thousand species form the largest grouping of living creatures. With beneficial insects in the minority, one wonders if—like the thorns and thistles that appeared after mankind’s fall—annoying insects appeared later.
We marvel at the social organization of a honey bee colony with its queen, drones, and worker bees whose wings beat at 75 beats per second and can hover, move up, down or sideways while they collect pollen to bring back to feed the colony. We marvel even further when we consider the chemical laboratory in the bee’s body that converts the nectar collected into honey and enables it to also create wax to construct the storage cells the colony needs to store the bounty. God could create such a tiny insect that unerringly flies to nectar laden flowers, communicates their location to fellow bees, and finds their way back to their hive in the shortest and straightest line possible. All the while bees are pollinating the flowers so they can produce fruit after their kind. They are but one example of the profound interconnections in God’s creation. Evolved?
There is an irreducible complexity to all living things. They show the evidence of a designer. Their nano mechanisms are made up of complex proteins requiring genetic information at their core. Every cell has numerous mechanisms that operate according to a built-in code. That code is written into the microscopic DNA. The relatively recent discovery of DNA is clear evidence of an intelligent speaker—the Creator, the Word. Indeed, DNA constitutes the longest sentence yet known to man.
In the 1800’s when Charles Darwin was promoting the theory of evolution, some wise thinkers realized it could not be true. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Any part of the creation has more instruction in it than the human mind will ever exhaust.” Of course, we can understand Darwin’s limitations. He dealt with ideas of a blob of matter before the incredible intricacy of cells, atomic structure, and DNA were discovered.
On that sixth day; “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness …male and female he created them.” In the previous creations, God just spoke and they were created. In making mankind, the Triune members of the Godhead took counsel and said, “let us make man.” God formed man, as it were with his hands, out of dust like the rest of creation but shaping him into a special form, a form that the Son of God would later assume. Then he “breathed into his nostrils and he became a living soul.” Unlike all other creatures, man’s soul comes from God. It is created “in the image of God,” the Imago Dei, which I interpret to mean with a moral, administrative, intellectual, volitional, creative, and probably, relational dimension. For “male and female, he created them,” saying “it is not good that man should be alone.”
The two, Adam and Eve, were very different yet Eve was still, “bone of [his]bones, and flesh of [his] flesh.” God pronounced them not just ‘good” but “very good.” Together they created a perfect balance so that in marriage “the two become one flesh.,” yet each maintains separate functions. This verygoodness included sex with all its purposes including the mating instinct, the desire for children, conjugal love, and the intense pleasure of sexual union.
Originally, God set them in the Garden of Eden “to work it and take care of it” (Gen 2:15). But in a broader sense God appointed them be his regents on earth. “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the seas…birds…over every living creature” (Gen 1:28). God made mankind his divine stewards.
David later writes, “You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [angels] and crowned him with glory and honor, you made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet…O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:5,6,9)
The creation of man was the pinnacle of God’s creation. The Imago Dei in all humans forms the foundation of our unity with all mankind and dispels any notion of racial superiority. Out of the created potential within us, mankind has made great strides both upward in science, technology, and understanding while also taking the human race down, down into depravity, war, cruelty, prejudice and evil. Can we really envision artificial intelligence creating a humanoid form—Humo Dei that will be unpolluted by depravity? Will the worship of man soon follow? Fortunately God is sovereign over time, directing all things toward the great re-creation at his coming.
Instead of exploiting our creative potential for our own glory or for ill, let us consecrate it to the service of the creator.
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
As I write this, North America is excited about a solar eclipse. Hotels are booked solid all along the viewing band. Schools are cancelled. Blogs and articles are full of advice about how to view the eclipse without harming your eyes. There is never a dull day on planet Earth. Interesting. Exciting. Stimulating to the imagination of poets and pundits—and especially to God’s children.
Please remember that I am not dealing with all the questions skeptics pose about the order of the days. They were dealt with in part one of these chapters on creation. Instead of doubt we embrace the fact that God’s power and wisdom is infinitely beyond our capacity to understand. We embrace the account of creation and celebrate the great works of God.
Let us then consider how this wonderful universe came into being in days two through four. As the days of creation advance, we see God bringing order and beauty out of chaos and forming matter into its myriad forms.
TWO During the second day of creation, (vs. 6-8), “God said, ‘let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.’ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse ‘sky.’”
During this second day, we have the creation of atmosphere, sixty to eighty miles thick, forming a canopy sustaining life. The dry air of this delicate security blanket is about 78.08 percent nitrogen, 20.95 percent oxygen, and 0.93 percent argon. A brew of trace gases accounts for the other approximately 0.04 percent, including the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone.
If there was too much oxygen, any spark would consume all the combustible substances of the world. Fortunately, like everything else God created, it is in perfect balance. Earth’s atmosphere absorbs heat and cold, insulating us from the frigid cold of space and the burning heat of the sun. It is transparent except where fog, dust, or smog obscures sight. Without it no creature could exist. And without it there would be no sound, music or communication.
Consider for a moment the marvelous element called water. It is tasteless, colorless, transparent, and buoyant. It exists in three forms; liquid, solid, and vapor. Without evaporation into water vapor we could not enjoy watching the myriad clouds that float across our sky; cumulus, cirrus, nimbus, and stratus, nor could we see our plants grow. These clouds are giant floating reservoirs of water, part of the weather cycle that makes life possible. Water evaporates into vapor purifying it of the mineral salts that accumulate in the oceans. Then it falls as rain on our dry planet causing plants to grow and forming lakes and rivers that in turn flow back into the sea to be evaporated again thus continuing the cycle.
One physicist has estimated that a rain of four inches over an area of 10,000 square miles, in for example, Alberta would require the burning of 640,000,000 tons of coal to produce enough water. Then it would require another eight hundred million horsepower of refrigeration working day and night for 100 days to produce such a rainfall. (Ibid, p. 85) It’s so easy to take the rain cycle for granted.
We don’t have space in this article to consider the marvel of trade winds, storms, tornadoes, typhoons, and blizzards producing lightning, hail, snow and rain. But hardly anyone on planet earth doesn’t consider weather before venturing forth. But do we pause and realize that weather is according to God’s design and for his purposes to either punish or bless mankind?
“O LORD God Almighty, who is like you…you rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them”(Ps 89:8,9)?
“The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them. He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love” Job. 37:10-13)
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD…As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth” (Isaiah 55:8-11).
“I also withhold rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up” (Amos 4:7).
THREE During the third day, (vs.9-13) God gathered the water under the sky to one place, and let dry ground appear. On the ground he caused vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit…according to their various kinds.” Rehwinkel writes, “On the third day God separated the liquids from the solids of the original chaos and then formed them into the first planet, giving it a spherical shape: dividing it into continents, islands, and seas; dotting it with mountains and valleys, lakes and rivers. He hung it in space without beams or cables and set it in a rotating motion (at a thousand miles an hour)” (Ibid, p. 91).
By contrast with spaceship earth, it has taken mankind centuries to engineer a space ship to travel to the moon and yet we exalt this achievement while denying God exists! Let those of us who walk by faith, worship our Creator as we walk around our spinning orb without getting dizzy. What a rich blanket of vegetation wraps our planet; stunning variety, astounding beauty, and delicious foods. Millions of species and forms of life. From plankton in the seas to sequoia on land, from peach trees to pine and oak. Flowers from roses to clematis, from orchids to phlox and daisy. Fruits from blueberries to apples, mango, dates, and melon. Grains from wheat to barley and rice. Vegetables from lentils to potatoes, beans, lettuce, celery and cucumber. Different kinds of vegetation appear in different climate zones protecting soil from erosion, feeding animals, and beautifying the earth.
There are 150,000 species of trees with 300 kinds of oaks and 90 pines. Some tower to 300 feet and can live an estimated 3000 years. Like everything else in creation the variety of forms is astounding. Each species has differing leaves, bark, shape and root networks. God built into each tree an efficient water pumping system through capillary action which can transport nutrients hundreds of feet in the air where leaves absorb carbon dioxide, expel oxygen, and convert gases and sunshine through photosynthesis into nourishment. What a marvel is a tree.
FOUR During the fourth day, (vs. 14-19) God created “lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and year, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth…two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night….the stars”
The sun is a revolving sphere of glowing gases a million times larger than earth with a diameter of 866,000 miles. This atomic furnace is precisely 93,000,000 miles from earth, the exact distance necessary to keep us from being either a perpetually frozen orb or a molten sea. This marvel is the source of all the energy on earth, estimated by astronomers to be equivalent to 230 trillion units of horsepower. During the recent eclipse, when the temperature dropped some ten degrees, I personally experienced how dependent we are to the sun for heat.
Nine planets, including earth, revolve around the sun. Each moves in its own orbit and rotates around its own axis. Earth rotates at a speed of a thousand miles an hour dividing time into day and night.
The moon, our nearest neighbour, orbits the earth at an average distance of 240,000 miles while itself rotating around its own axis thereby keeping the same side facing earth.
Like so much else in Scripture, the simple words, “he made the stars also” (Gen. 1:6) encapsulates an astonishing reality. Stars visible to the naked eye number three to five thousand. Telescopes have increased that number to uncounted billions, a number beyond our ken. They are further divided into galaxies, such as the Milky Way. Some ten thousand galaxies have been discovered and each contains some two hundred billion stars!
Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, is nine light-years away. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year at a speed of 186,000 miles per second! Thus, Sirius is six trillion miles away and yet its light is visible. Imagine the power and heat of that distant burning orb.
No wonder David marveled. “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou are mindful of him? (Psalm 8:1,3). Job probably refers to this vision of creation when he writes, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7).
Considering the order and beauty of the universe, Cicero wrote that it could not have been the result of chance. There must be a cause, a Mind, behind it all. Philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote, “I know of nothing more awe-inspiring than the starry heaven above and the moral law within us. (Ibid, p.145)
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
Modern prophets with PhD’s and white coats urge us to take more pills than at any time in history to find peace and happiness. They urge therapy from psychiatrists, especially during the recent pandemic. Pundits fill our bookstores with “How to Books” on finding fulfillment and happiness. But it is Jeremiah who 2500 years ago had an accurate diagnosis. He said that they cry, “peace, peace, . . . when there is no peace.” (Jer 6:14)
Want peace, fulfillment, joy? What should we do? “This is what the Lord says: ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jer 6:16) And so in this news series of blogs I’m going to go back to the story of Pilgrim’s Progress from John Bunyan, b 1628.
John Bunyan along with 50 or 60 other evangelicals who dissented from the official religion were thrown into an ancient jail constructed on one of the pillars of a bridge. He spent 12 1/2 years there during which time he wrote the classic Pilgrim’s Progress, an allegory about an ordinary Christian pilgrim travelling from the city of destruction to the gates of heaven. Imagine the agony with which he parted from his wife and four children. The illustrations in this series are from engravings on wood included in an 1861 edition.
The lose of evangelical freedom in those days is a warning to believers in the Gospel during our days as we slowly, ever so slowly see our freedom erode. Fortunately, we still have enormous freedom to speak forth the good news.
Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory. Although allegory as a form of writing is unfamiliar with many of us in our day; an allegory is a narrative in which a character, place, or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences. Authors have used allegory throughout history in all forms of art to illustrate or convey complex ideas and concepts in ways that are comprehensible or striking to its viewers, readers, or listeners. It makes the complex simple, relatable, and easy to understand.
Writers and speakers typically use allegories to convey (semi-)hidden or complex meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the author wishes to convey. Many allegories use personification of abstract concepts.
While in jail for his faith, John Bunyan wrote an allegory about having a dream of a man in rags with burden on his back. The man read from a book which led him to weep and tremble and cry out, “What shall I do?” Although written in 1600’s, Pilgrim represents millions of burdened people today.
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
We all looked forward to the end of the pandemic and freedom from lockdowns, but the use of masks seems to continue in some venues. Will that ever end completely? Perhaps not. After hours of agony on the cross, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “It is finished” (Matt. 27:5; John 19:30). HIS SIXTH WORD.
Three of his words from the cross expressed his love for others. Two expressed his own agony as he endured suffering for our sins. The last two echoed his triumph.
This sixth word, uttered with a loud cry, expressed the CONCLUSION of his sufferings, the end of the old dispensation and the declaration of our emancipation from the slavery of sin.
It is a cry of COMPLETION. All the prophecies of his first coming are fulfilled. The work of his incarnation is complete. Describing his coming he said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34). “I glorified Thee on earth, I have accomplished the work which you gave me to do” (John 17:4).
It is a cry of PERFECTION. The law of God is perfect, yet none of us have kept it. “But when the fulness of time came God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4,5). As Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets, I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). He fulfilled the law perfectly by his obedience It symbolizes a perfect salvation! Heb. 10:14 “For by one offering He has perfected forever those that are sanctified (Set apart by salvation)” (Heb. 10:14). Through his suffering he has secured for those who repent; forgiveness, justification, redemption, adoption, reconciliation, sanctification and glorification. A perfect salvation!
It is a cry of TRIUMPH. Note that he gave up his spirit. It was not taken from him. He died on his own terms, not a cowering victim but a triumphant Saviour. Because of him we can cry, Hallelujah! Imagine a symbol of humiliation is now a symbol of triumph!
One of the most challenging things about the pandemic was being told we must wear a mask, where we can go and not go, who we can meet with, and the distance we must stay from others. We don’t like to be compelled to do anything. We believe in freedom. This whole matter of freedom brings up the question; was Jesus compelled by the Father to die for our sins?
With our punishment paid, THE SEVENTH WORD FROM THE CROSS was uttered in a loud cry of victorious triumph. “Jesus called out in a loud voice,” (John 19:30): “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. When he had said this he breathed his last. He bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (Luke 23:46).
His first and last words from the cross were addressed to the Father. In this final word we see that the separation between the Son and the Father has ended as has his suffering. His sufferings did not destroy his relationship in the Godhead to the Father.
By saying, “into your hands I commit my spirit,” he indicates that his death was VOLUNTARY. He chose this path for you and me! Matthew 27:5 indicates that “he yielded up his spirit,” while John 19:30 describes it as “he bowed his head and gave up his Spirit.” Earlier he had predicted this. “The reason the Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:”17,18).
It is important to note here that the sinless man, Christ Jesus died. Neither the Father nor the Spirit died. It is incorrect to say that God died on the cross.
Note also the REDEMPTIVE EFFECT of his death. The hardened Roman centurion who had seen countless deaths and been unaffected by the whimpers, gasps, cries and curses uttered by others dying was astounded at this death. He had never seen a man die with a loud voice of triumph while uttering a prayer. Seeing Jesus die after hours of darkness in the midst of a terrible earthquake, he “praised God and said, ‘surely this was a righteous man’”
Matthew 27:54 records; “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’” I have no doubt that at least the centurion became a believer in Christ that day.
Meanwhile the crowds who had gathered to leer and jeer at the crucified suddenly sobered. “When the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.” (Luke 23:48).
You can’t imagine a more victimized person than Jesus. Yet when he died, he didn’t say, “I am finished” but “It is finished.” He did not play the victim, and thus he emerged the victor. (Joni Eareckson Tada)
Praise God for the victory He purchased for us. Have a blessed Easter weekend knowing that the cross leads to the empty tomb.
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
“The first chapter of Genesis is not only the most remarkable chapter in the Bible but it is unique in all the literature of the world.” There is no vagueness here and no elaborate or grotesque descriptions as found in pagan mythologies. It is so simple a child could understand it. Thirty-one verses composed mostly of one and two syllable words. No descriptive adjectives or adverbs. No abstract concepts. It is reminiscent of the language of Jesus Christ in his parables and teachings. Truth does not need to be hidden beneath a screen of confusing verbiage.
And yet this is one of the most attacked chapters in the Bible; attacked in esoteric, confusing, and semi-scientific language. It is as if the prince of darkness would rob us of the enjoyment we ought to derive from celebrating creation. Scripture warns us; “that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19, NKJV). Satan has spread a blanket of lies throughout the earth to hide the glory of our creator.
However, as we wander through God’s handiwork on earth and stare at the heavens above we need to counter the devil’s propaganda with the glorious truth of God’s creative majesty. I stare at my hand and wonder at God’s infinite skill in creating this ambidextrous appendage that I use without thinking. I glance outside and see a storm building. On a clear night, I look up and try to count the stars. Inside, out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse movement. A tiny ant traverses the tile floor. All part of the created universe. Created for us to enjoy. Created to sustain our life. Created to showcase the astonishing wisdom, power, and beauty of our Creator.
As already noted, proving that God did create the universe or explaining how he created it is beyond human capacity. Instead, God calls us to believe. “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews, 1:3). Jesus assumes we will believe. To the two he met on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection; “Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scripture the things concerning himself…which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms…” (Luke 24:27,44). In his explanation of all would have been a description of his role in creation as clarified in the apostles who wrote the first chapters of John, Colossians, and Hebrews.
So, let’s approach Genesis, chapter one in a celebratory mood. It begins with a summary statement. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1,2). Out of nothing, (Hebrew, bara), God created matter in a formless state. Matter had a beginning. Time began. “By him [Christ] all things were created” (Col 1:16).
In the beginning God created all the substances, the chemical elements and all forms of energy, that exist. Silica, silver, uranium, oxygen, water, electricity, gravity. Plus the atomic and sub-atomic structures. It is estimated that one teaspoonful of water contains a million billion trillion atoms. But each atom is a microscopic universe of energy and motion. And what of the internal forces that maintain the structure of atoms and sub-atomic particles? “In him [Christ] all things hold together” (Col. 1:17).
Verses 3-5 describe the first day of creation. “Let there be light…the light was good…he separated the light from the darkness, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening and there was morning—the first day.” Light! A bundle of mysteries that travels 186,000 miles per second bringing colour and life-giving energy. What are these waves of energy that pervade the universe dispelling darkness? God knows. Scientists ponder. We celebrate.
Each of the six days of creation affirm that God spoke things into existence. “God said, ‘Let there be light…an expanse…land…vegetation…sky…living creatures…man’” The molecular and sub-atomic structures that have been discovered since Darwin, demonstrate that all structures show the evidence of coded information. Where would information come from but from a pre-existent designer/creator who spoke them into existence? It’s interesting to note that Jesus is described as “the Word” who “created all things”. Each time what was created was declared good. It was without defect.
The first few verses of Genesis raise two questions that have engaged many theologians. Could there have been a great gap in time between Genesis 1:2 and 3? And were the days of creation 24-hour days or long periods of time? Both of these questions were largely raised to try and harmonize Scripture with evolutionary theory that posits long periods of time. With the refutation of evolution as a tool, such theories are not now necessary—if we have faith in God as infinite in wisdom and power. We are not privy to the manner and methods of God.
As to the days of creation we can say that the text makes the most sense if “day” is interpreted as 24 hours. But the Hebrew word for day, yom, can mean a long period as in Psalm 90:4, the work of creating might have taken longer on certain days than 24 hours, and the sun was not yet created to measure and regulate time.
However, the language in the text is simple and clear, the most natural reading of yom is 24 hours, the mention of evening and morning indicates the beginning and end of one day, and since all of creation is a unified system it beggars credibility to understand how the various elements could function without each other. Most notably, we must accept that any of the ever-changing theories of science cannot be asked to judge changeless Scripture. Scripture is to be taken as true in whatever it affirms.
Look around and celebrate!
(Some of the thoughts in this chapter suggested by Alfred M. Rehwinkel in The Wonders Of Creation – an exploration of the Origin and splendors of the Universe, Bethany, 1974)
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
Portuguese traders following Vasco da Gama settled at Macau, on the south coast of China and there build a massive Cathedral overlooking the harbour. But in the eighteenth century a violent typhoon destroyed the cathedral. All that remained was the front façade and a great brass cross.
In 1825, Sir John Bowring, governor of Hong Kong visited Macau. He was so impressed he wrote the famous hymn;
In the Cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time,
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime
We glory in the cross, but before he went to the cross, Jesus agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane. He took three disciples, had them sit and pray and then went off a little distance to pray himself.
He said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death…Abba, Father, ‘He said’ everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mk 14:34-36). Luke writes, “being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
As we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, we need to remind ourselves why this cup brought such anguish to his soul. It was a CUP OF ACCUSATION. He who was the Truth was called by the religious authorities a liar, an imposter, a blasphemer.
It was a CUP OF MOCKING. We read of the soldiers commissioned with his crucifixion that “And when they had mocked him they took the purple off him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.” (Mark 14:20) They made fun of him by clothing him in purple, twisting a crown of thorns, saluting him as King of the Jews, striking his head, spitting on him, bowing the knee, and pretending to worship him.
It was a CUP OF SHAME. Romans were so repulsed by the cross as a form of execution that they agitated for it never to be used on Roman citizens. But Jesus hung naked between two thieves. Paul explains, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: ‘Cursed in everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Gal. 3:13).
It was a CUP OF PAIN. Crucifixion was one of the most agonizing methods of dying that mankind has invented. He had been beaten, thorns pressed into his scalp, then nails driven through his wrists and feet followed by agonizing thirst. Isaiah in prophetic vision sees “his appearance disfigured…his form marred beyond human likeness” (Isiah 52:14).
It was a CUP OF SIN. Jesus, the holy, harmless, undefiled, and righteous Son of God took upon himself our sins; our self-righteousness, indifference, hatred, our pride, our immorality—all of our evil including the worst wickedness of mankind. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Centuries earlier Isaiah had proclaimed; “He was pierced for our transgressions” (Is. 53:5).
It was a CUP OF WRATH. The Son of God who from all eternity had enjoyed the love of the Father and the Spirit now becomes the object of divine wrath. Our iniquity on him aroused God’s wrath to be poured out on the cross. The sun even darkens to hide this terrible event.
It was a CUP OF SEPARATION. “In the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying “Eloi, Eloi, My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34).Imagine. The loving union, the unimaginable fellowship he had enjoyed with the Father from all eternity is cut off. He was abandoned by his disciples who fled. He was denied by Peter.
It was a CUP OF DEATH. He who is the source of life, in his incarnation as the man Christ Jesus, is to die. How can this be? How can we understand such love for us? “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). He shed his blood for us.
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
Scripture asserts, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). “Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. ‘Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you’” (Nehemiah 9:5,6).
As the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ is declared to be the Creator and sustainer of all. “In the beginning was the Word,…Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1,3). “By him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all thing, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:16,17). “In these last days he (God) has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Heb. 1:2).
The Bible does not prove that the universe came to exist through a special creation from nothing for the immensity, intricacy, and perfect integration of all things is self-evident, pointing to a Creator beyond creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). “What may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). Any proof that God might give to demonstrate to our minds that he is the creator of all would be beyond our capacity to understand. “Oh, the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:33,34).
In spite of what ought to be self-evident from the universe around us, mankind has gone off on many fantastical tangents to offer alternate theories of origin. Many of these have been dualistic, positing good and evil forces. In the Babylonian creation story, Marduk struggles with evil Tiamet to create the world. Among various Hindu views of creation and re-creation, “a lotus flower grew from Lord Vishnu’s navel with Brahma sitting on it. Brahma separated the flower into three parts – the heavens, the earth and the sky. Out of loneliness, Brahma split himself into two to create a male and a female. From this male and female all beings were created.”
Most native American peoples believe in “the Great Mystery”, Kitchi-Manitou who in various ways created North America. In one version, the Anishinabe, or Original People, strayed from their harmonious ways and began to argue and fight. Seeing this disharmony and violence, Kitchi Manitou decided to purity the Earth with a great flood. On a huge log the surviving animals were in much distress. The muskrat swam to the bottom and brought up mud but in the effort died to re-create the world on turtle’s back.
Ancient Greeks had a variety of creation myths. A summary statement might be, “In the beginning there was Chaos, a yawning nothingness. Out of the void emerged Gaia (the Earth) and other divine beings— Eros (love), the Abyss (part of the underworld), and the Erebus (the unknowable place where death dwells). Without male assistance, Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the Sky), who then fertilized her.” (https://www.khanacademy.org)
As the Christian faith spread, the biblical view of creation became widely held until the rise and spread of skepticism began to eclipse orthodox faith. Since man by nature “will not have God to rule over him” but seeks autonomy of action and belief, it was natural for philosophers to eagerly seek alternate views.
Among theories, Charles Darwin’s views on Evolution took the world by storm and have since been largely accepted as the “new gospel.” Jerry Coyne summarizes the theory in terms of biology as; “Life on Earth evolved gradually beginning with one primitive species– perhaps a self-replicating molecule– that lived more than 3.5 billion years ago; it then branched out over time, throwing off many new and diverse species; and the mechanism for most (but not all) of evolutionary change is natural selection.”(See “Evolution -Fact or Fiction?, John Blanchard, EP booklet) It was quickly assumed that evolution not only explained the origin of all living things but also the development of the inanimate world.
Geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky declares, “Evolution comprises all the stages of the development of the universe: the cosmic, biological, and human or cultural developments.” (Ibid,p.6) Julian Huxley called it “the most powerful and the most comprehensive idea that has ever arisen on earth.” (Ibid, p. 6) The media repeats these “theories” as if they are fact.
Evidence, however, has been non-existent. In Darwin’s writings, ‘we may suppose’ occurs over 800 times. Evolution if posited without any empirical proofs. (Blanchard, p. 6) The geological record, for example, the Cambrian explosion, disputes accepted theories of evolution. Ambrose Fleming, one-time president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, called evolution “baseless and quite incredible,” as have many other more recent scientists. Palaeontologist Colin Patterson describes it as stories that are not part of science. (Ibid, p. 7)
Any theory that does not take into account DNA, a relatively recent discovery, cannot be viewed as anything but fanciful. Consider: “DNA houses a staggering amount of genetic information. All the data needed to specify the design of a human being, including the arrangement of over 200 bones, 600 muscles, 10,000 auditory nerve fibres, two million optic nerve fibres, 100 billion brain-cell nerves and 400 billion feet of blood vessels and capillaries is packed into a unit weighing less than a few thousand-millionths of a gram, and several thousand million, million times smaller than the smallest piece of functional machinery used by man. It has been estimated that on the same scale all the information needed to specify the design of every living species that has ever existed on our planet could be put into a teaspoon, with enough room left over for all the information in every book ever written.” (Ibid, p. 18)
As Evolution began to fade as an accepted theory among credible thinkers, some have posited that matter has always existed or that the seeds of our universe have been planted from another universe. Nothing like either side-stepping the question of origins or pushing the question into the distant past or into a mysterious ‘other universe.’
More recently, scientists have declared that the universe came into existence at a specific time in a “Big Bang,” which is somewhat suggestive of Creation. But why not just accept what God has said?
Instead of wandering off into cloud cuckoo-land, God calls us to celebrate the absolute wonder of his creative majesty. Let’s look around and praise our Creator. (Essential Doctrines, # 46) Feb. 29, 24
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
It is just over a month until Good Friday and the Easter weekend. Easter is a harbinger of spring. We begin to think of gardening and the return of our favourite birds. Our pulse quickens at the thought of nearing the end of winter’s snow and sleet, of yoyo temperatures, of parkas and gloves. And that is as it should be. But, we would do well to join the great cloud of witnesses who throughout church history took this period as a time of deep reflection.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Two millennia ago, Jesus had you and I on his mind. To that end, he lived his short life beneath the shadow of his coming death and resurrection. Jesus came to die—and he knew it. At first his purpose is dimly shown in the gospels. There are hints only. ”Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). “The Son of Man must be lifted up” (John 3:14). “The Bridegroom will be snatched away” (Mark 2:30)
When he informed his disciples that his flesh would be given for the life of the world in John 6:51, many left him. The statement of Christ that true disciples would eat his flesh and drink his blood, pointing to identification with communion, created a crisis.
Peter’s confession that; “Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” marked a turning point. “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribe, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matt. 16:212). This categorical statement is repeated twice more. (Matt. 17:22, 22:18)
From this point on the teaching becomes more definite. He came to die—for you and me. “The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). “The Son of man came…to give his life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). We read that the corn of wheat must die if it is to bear fruit (John 12:24) and that the greatest proof of love is laying down of life (John 15:13).
The record moves on to Gethsemane and Calvary. Climactic, history shattering events. In the Gospels ten pages out of 30 are given to the last week of his life. Mark gives seven out of nineteen pages. Luke gives one quarter of his whole gospel. John allots ten pages to the same period. The conspicuous place given to this period in Jesus’s life points to the significance it held in the disciple’s minds—although not until they had time to reflect on it later. Peter had rebuked Jesus for predicting his death. Until they later understood, thought of his death was unwelcome and repellant. But after his crucifixion and resurrection, the convicting power of the Holy Spirit led them to realize that “he bore our sins in his own body on the tree,” as prophesied.
Perhaps it is coincidental—is anything coincidental—that in these northern climes spring and Easter come together. Wherever we live, may God help us to ponder and pray long and hard about the most climactic events in history, and in our Christian lives. Jesus willingly came to die. He gave his life for us. He bore our sins on the cross. He rose to give us new life. Because he died and rose, we can be forgiven, justified, adopted, redeemed, sanctified, glorified. (If these are strange words open your Bible to Romans and read the life-giving words.)
Another thought. Why don’t we view every crocus, every daffodil, every tulip as a symbol of what Jesus has done for us? After all, he created them all! When we see them let’s not just give thanks for spring but for the eternal Spring he gave himself to prepare for us. Isn’t that what heaven is all about?
(Thanks for most of these thoughts to W.H. Griffith Thomas in his book, Christianity Is Christ)
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
Country Inspiration 