Hot Rock Soup with Ice Topping
I remember that Grandpa used to like to have warm milk in a cold glass. To retain the best qualities of that comforting drink, you actually have to consume it right away. Grandpa also liked to have his water boiling BEFORE going to the garden and picking the ripe ears of corn for con-on-the-cob. That way, they were nice and fresh. Not like some of the tasteless produce that gets picked green so that it can withstand the gruelling days of transport to the cities where it will be consumed. Those were different days, when hot things stayed hot and cold things stayed cold and fresh ideas and fresh corn were not canned and regulated as they are today.
While it might be hard to imagine keeping a glass cool for even a minute after filling it with warm milk, this planet we’re walking on is even harder to understand. Having just come from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan where the -38 degree weather made my old Chevy pickup reluctant to start, I’m trying to grasp how those raw winds and icy roads can exist as a thin layer over a spinning ball of molten rock hurtling through the universe. It’s even harder to fathom how we fragile human beings can survive between the harsh extremes of temperature that routinely dominate our living area.
We know that we require water in liquid form and---somewhere between the heat of the desert (and the hot lava beneath our feet) and the icy poles at the strangely magnetized axis-ends of the earth---we find enough water to quench our own thirst and water our camels. Without that liquid water we would die. Those of us who acknowledge God think about the distance of the earth from the sun, the angle of the earth’s axis, the speed of the earth’s rotation and the composition of the earth’s atmosphere that traps the sun’s rays. All these factors and more play into the animated 3-D puzzle, the complex interactions of matter and energy that allow us to drink from a bubbling brook or drill into subterranean pockets of cold, clear water. Drill a little deeper and you might hit oil, deeper still you might find hidden lakes of superheated water. A little deeper and you touch the liquid rock that every so often bursts it bounds and boils to the surface.
We have---within our tactile reach---such extremes of heat and cold as seem almost impossible to coexist; yet there they are. Our own existence can seem impossibly fragile were we not aware of the nature and character of our impossibly all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God. He is the One who designed the solar systems, who created fire and gases, indeed all matter and energy. He has created us and our world in the vastness of space and mystery. He has placed our world in its orbit and set the bounds of every star and planet. The laws of physics which govern our rotation and trajectory, centrifugal force and gravity are all His. In short, we are here by His permission and design and for His glory. He covers the molten rock with fertile fields, bounteous seas and even icy glaciers and gives us a place here with our fellow-creatures because of His own plans and purposes.
In our social-political-philosophical world we also have extremes which seem so contradictory as to come from or belong to different planets. And we have people who carry such opposing views within their own thoughts, unable to grasp even the contradictions so evident to others. The same people can blithely cast a ballot supporting the murder of 100,000 innocent babies each year while erupting in condemnation over the shooting of 100 dogs. The same folks will cringe and complain at the exhaust of an idle car but say nothing about the hot air and induced exhaustion of an idle man. The pollution of the minds of children with perverse images and teachings is justified while the introduction of sense and reality on issues of sexuality is condemned. The existence of absolute truth is denied but those who disagree with this assessment are considered to be wrong. How can one be wrong when there is no standard to measure by?
And so, against the grain of faulty logic and deliberate deception, we must continue to present the Truth to all those who may be able to receive it. Since we don’t know beforehand who these may be, we simply speak the Truth to all and pray that the Maker of stars and Designer of planets will also open the hearts and minds of men. Without His guidance and revelation, our thoughts are foolish but when He pulls back the curtain on the intricacies of the universe (as He has done for so many inventors and scientists), the non-contradictory patterns of His ordered beauty and power are seen. Then men and women are drawn to the Source of all truth, the Giver of all life and the One who can bring all creation into harmony with His plan and purpose.