Hello,
As many of you
know, I live in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the Laurel
Highlands. Our home is perched on a hill
between two ridges, Laurel Ridge to the east and Chestnut Ridge to the west. Laurel Ridge rises to about 2700 ft. Chestnut Ridge is somewhat lower.
Of all the times
of the year, October is the time that I most enjoy where I live. The rolling hills that were summer covered
with the soft, fluffy, green deciduous maples, oaks, locus, sassafras…just to
name a few….. take on a patchwork of quilted color. Rusty red.
Dazzling yellow. Brilliant orange. It is beautiful.
Some say that
such beauty confirms their belief in God, however not so for me. As beautiful as the October hills are, I know
that their beauty is short lived. Soon
the hills will be replete with nothing but barren trunks and limbs. It is true that some may say, and I am one of
them, that there is a stark beauty to the winter hills. But there are some stark things in nature
that I don’t think any one finds beautiful:
hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, killing storms. The problem that I find in using nature to
confirm and understand God is that nature delivers a capricious, unsettled, and
heartless God. A God who will provide great
joy one minute, and then the next minute slash that joy into fear, seemingly
without blinking an eye.
For me, what
confirms and gives me understanding of God is not the passing beauty of nature. It is the ugly, horrifying, excruciatingly
painful Calvary cross that has laid its scar upon every moment of time. That cross does not waver in its message and
meaning. That cross is the evidence upon
which my belief is nailed, and my understanding of God is enfleshed. There is no fickleness to such a God who enthroned
himself on the most terrifying and grotesque sights of human nature and
overwhelming it with conquering love. Of
course, I cannot categorically say that the cross proves God’s existence in the
universe, but as with things as universally important as love, there are some
things that one comes to believe with all of one’s heart as one abides in those
things. The cross is not a beautiful field
picked daisy whose plucked petals oscillate with the wondering words, “He loves
me. He loves me not.” The cross stands petal-less in time’s field
saying one, and only one thing, “I love you.”
Just as many,
including me, travel to take in the beautiful sights of nature, sights that are
breath taking in wonder and splendor, I, along with many, travel every Sunday
to church to cast my eyes upon that instrument of death out of which flows the
breath of life. To refrain from making this
weekly trip can entrap me in fleeting hopes, passing peace, and balloon
pop-able joy.
So, let me offer
my invitation to all of you to come and visit me in October (not all at once,
please) so that you can see how lovely this world can be. Let me also offer to all of you God’s
invitation to spend time in God’s house so that you can see just how much God
loves you and how much you can trust (believe) in that love.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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