Towers come...and go.

I glance out the window from my study as I write these words.
It looks like, Spring. 
  
I hear the rustling bows of the trees bending in the wind.
It sounds like Spring.

The sky is a canvas of blue being overtaken by gray as a weather front moves through, bringing a promise of rain later today.
It acts like Spring.

It's St. Patrick's Day...three days until the planet rotates my part of the world in such a way that the days get warmer and longer.  Spring.

The normal cycle of the Earth around the Sun is in full swing.  The ways we mark the essential relationships in our lives, celebrate them, remain, in place.

Yet...
Life has changed.  
The Pandemic of 2020 has ravaged the planet;
...our 401k's

...our dreams
...our security

...our economy
...our prospects
...our social mores
...our confident expectations.
Two years.  

Towers go up.
Towers come down.  
We are in control?  
We are not. 
Two years.

I can't shake this feeling.

I am reminded about the first notable tower in history.  The Tower of Babel [Genesis 11].  That tower was imagined as the penultimate expression of independence on the part of humankind; our effort to shake a collective fist at God and say, "See, you aren't so transcendent after all." Foolish pride led to an inflated opinion of who we were; God breathed, language changed, and chaos ensued. 

We discovered we were no match for the transcendent God; we are not in control.

Fast forward to Century 21.  

God, in His grace, has allowed humankind to apply our intellect and ingenuity, these also graciously granted by God, to "discover" thousands of widgets that insulate us from the ill-effects of the fall: pharmaceuticals, asphalt, steel, plastic, roads, air conditioning, engines, automation, computers, artificial intelligence--the list is endless.

We, in turn, tainted by sin and swelled with pride, believing ourselves to be wise "shake our fists" at God and say, "You see, the Scriptures are a myth; there was a big-bang , and then there was 'protoplasm' and look at how we have evolved, we have the power to give and take life. We don't need myths to prop us up anymore. We ARE gods." 

In reality, everything we touch we corrupt.
...Look at what we call our "system of Justice." 

...We condition the air at the same time we poison it with hydro-carbons. 

...We pollute the planet, poison our bodies, can't beat legions of disease, and when/if we do, something else always emerges. 

Regardless of how effective we are at blunting the effect of sin on life and the planet, sin always trumps our best efforts...and God allows it to point us to our need for a Savior and His gracious provision for our redemption.

The farther evolved civilization becomes the further it devolves into moral and spiritual chaos--abortion, failed economies, addiction, violence, corrupt governments, greed, broken relationships, idolatry, shamanism, injustice, politics.

We run from God; we can't hide.
Civilization, as we have fashioned it, has become humankind's most recent Tower of Babel, the work of "our hands" which demonstrates our independence, our ability to "get it done without God." 

We set out to be like God, and in a final irony, we create the very modality that could be the end of life as we know it. We can destroy it, but we can't fix it..."all the king's horses, and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty-dumpty back together again." 

Two years.  The pandemic is the Waypoint.

The lie that deceived Eve continues to vex us, but we aren't beaten. This Truth has set us free...

"When we were utterly helpless...God showed his 

great love for us by sending Christ to die for us 

while we were still sinners." Romans 5.6a,8

Two years.

We don't get to be here long.
What will you do with Jesus?

Message me; I'd love to help you on your way.

Liveitwell!