DayBreaks for the Week of 12/19/22 – When God Put His Son in Our Arms

Luke 2:25-32 (NLT) – At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

“We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a highchair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, ‘Hi.’ He pounded his fat baby hands on the highchair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.

“I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty, and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.

“We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. ‘Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,’ the man said to Erik.

“My husband and I exchanged looks,  ‘What do we do?’

“Erik continued to laugh and answer, ‘Hi.’

“Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, ‘Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.’

“Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.

“My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

“We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. ‘Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,’ I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby’s ‘pick-me-up’ position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.

“Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man’s ragged shoulder. The man’s eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby’s bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.

“I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, ‘You take care of this baby.’

“Somehow I managed, ‘I will,’ from a throat that contained a stone.

“He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, ‘God bless you, ma’am, you’ve given me my Christmas gift.’

“I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, ‘My God, my God, forgive me.’

“I had just witnessed Christ’s love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, ‘Are you willing to share your son for a moment?’ when He shared His for all eternity. How did God feel when he put his baby in our arms 2000 years ago?

“The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, ‘To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children.'” – Author Unknown

You and I are the smelly, dirty man in this story. And wonder of wonders, God has entrusted his son to us.

PRAYER: Thank You, Father, for entrusting Your Son into our arms so long ago and even yet today! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2022, Galen C. Dalrymple.

DayBreaks for 3/06/22 – Because the World Loves Darkness

NOTE TO READERS: Just a reminder that DayBreaks is now published only once a week.  

A great many of us American Christians get “wrapped around the axle” when it comes to what’s going on in our culture.  Mass shootings of children in schools, rampant drug abuse even among elementary age children, economic systems that feed the pockets of the wealthy but starve the hard workers, injustice, laws that blatantly fly in the face of God’s clear Word, the massive numbers of unwed mothers and dead-beat fathers, children growing up without healthy role models, churches that have forgotten why Jesus created them in the first place – these and many other things scare us and cause us to scratch our heads and wonder what’s happening. It’s not just America, but the world, too, as we’ve seen with the brutal invasion of Ukraine.

Once when out walking, my wife commented on what a beautiful world God created.  Being in a rather sober mood, I commented that yes, it is beautiful here, but around the world people are shooting and killing each other – often in the name of their faith, or for greed or power.  North Korea threatens South Korea and the US with “fire” that will destroy Seoul and Washington as they continue their nuclear program.  Iran has pledged itself to wipe Israel “off the map” once they have the capability to do so.  Human trafficking exists on a rampant scale, thrusting young children as young as 11 or younger into abuse the defies description.  So called cease-fire corridors to allow for humanitarian evacuations of civilians are shelled and bombed and women and children get killed. I don’t get it.  What, in God’s name, has become of us?

Well, you know, I’m not sure that anything has become of us.  There is a simple reality that the apostle John pointed out in the third chapter of his gospel that goes like this: John 3:19 (MSG) – This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God.  Or, in the more familiar way of putting it: And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. – (NLT)

There it is, pure and simple.  We must not be surprised at what is happening – at least not if we believe what Scripture says about us.  The fact is that people love the darkness (evil, self-promotion and self-interest) more than the light (the things of God).  Why?  Because “their actions were evil” – and their actions, if the world gets dark enough, will seem normal and right or at the very least acceptable.

It’s easy to point the finger at “them”, isn’t it?  But in what ways am I loving the darkness more than the light?  In what ways are you loving darkness and evil and sin?  Don’t fool yourself about how holy and upright you are.  You are still human.  You still have a sin nature that has a strong root in you. 

Maybe it is time for us Christians to take a good, hard look at ourselves and really probe on the ways that we still love darkness…and then ask God to shine the Light of Jesus into those dark places in our hearts, to root out that darkness.  One thing is for sure: we can’t root them out ourselves!  We can’t even recognize them for what they are because we are deluded about our own faults and sin and goodness. 

Prayer is called for.  Repentance is needed.  The Spirit-walk is necessary.  Even as I write this, I know what some of those dark areas are in my soul and I fear to write what I have for I know my own weakness and how the darkness calls to me and how weak and prone to falling that I am.  Hypocrisy knows no bounds and it spares none of us.  Lord Jesus, have mercy on our souls!

PRAYER: Oh, Light of the world that reached down into darkness, cast Your beams into the dark, dank recesses of our hearts and minds to drive away our love of darkness.  Help us love the Light more than the darkness!  Spare us from what we deserve and grant us Your grace!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2022 by Galen C. Dalrymple.

DayBreaks for 1/26/22 – The Place of Honor

Luke 9:46-48 – An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all-he is the greatest.”

What caused this fuss among the disciples?  I don’t know.  Bede suggested that it came about as a result of the three apostles of the inner circle (Peter, James and John) had just been privileged to be on the mount of transfiguration and to behold the meeting between Jesus, Moses and Elijah.  Perhaps they were a bit full of themselves when they came down from the mountain and bragged about how they were special because Jesus had taken them with him – while leaving the others behind.  Whatever the cause, it is one of the saddest stories told about the disciples.

We should not miss what Jesus wants us to learn from this situation.  There are several lessons here:

FIRST: the place of honor is available to anyone – anyone, that is, who is willing to stand beside Him.  This little child had no sense of seeking glory or fame – Jesus just “took” the child and pulled the child next to himself.  Can there be a greater honor for any man or woman than to say that he/she has been taken by Jesus and that they stand next to him?

SECOND: what was so special about this child?  Nothing.  And that’s exactly the point.  This child had nothing to recommend him/her to Jesus to have gained this special position of honor.  The child’s name is unknown and unrecorded.  The child couldn’t offer Jesus fame, fortune or even a job recommendation.  The child was needy – is there anything more needy than a human child?  They are totally dependent.  Jesus wants us to understand and accept our own neediness – and to be willing to stand beside him.

THIRD: the blessing isn’t pronounced on the child – but on those who welcome the child.  What does it mean to welcome a little child?  Simply this: we are to welcome one another like we would welcome a child – expecting nothing in return except neediness.  Isn’t that exactly what Jesus has done for us?  He’s welcomed us when there was nothing we could give in return, nothing to ingratiate ourselves to him – just bleeding, crying need.

Are you seeking honor in the wrong place?  Are you aware of your own neediness?  Are you willing to accept others just as they are without expectations of what they can do for you?

PRAYER: Thank you for pulling us close to you and accepting us!  Help us to accept others, and to accept ourselves in You!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2022 by Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 1/13/22 – God Becomes a Slave

Jesus did and said many things during his ministry that are stunning – even shocking.  And why should it not be so?  No one had ever seen God before Jesus came!  How would we have known what to expect for a heavenly being that is all powerful?  Yet the image of God that Jesus showed to us was so different from what might have been expected.  We discovered that He cares for the birds of the air, knows the most minute details of our lives, hungers for love, likes what is good and wholesome and hates what is evil.  But he also showed us other things that were more shocking, especially when he said, “The Son of Man has not come to be served, but to serve.” 

“On the eve of his death, Jesus took off his outer garment, tied a towel around his waist, poured water into a copper basin, and washed the feet of his disciples.  The Jerusalem Bible notes that the dress and duty are those of a slave….French theologian Yves Congar stated, ‘The revelation of Jesus is not contained in his teaching alone; it is also, and perhaps we ought to say mainly in what he did.  The coming of the Word into our flesh, God’s acceptance of the status of servant, the washing of the disciples’ feet – all this has the force of revelation and a revelation of God.’

“A profound mystery: God becomes a slave.  This implies very specifically that God want to be known through servanthood.  Such is God’s own self-disclosure.  Thus, when Jesus describes his return in glory at the end of the world, He says (Luke 12:370 – “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.”

Even after his resurrection, Jesus remains a servant.  After our resurrection, we should not be surprised to see Jesus repeat the scene with his disciples – except this time, he will wash our feet and wait on us.  I’m afraid that my reaction will be much like that of Peter – “No, lord.  You will never wash my feet!”  I can’t imagine God washing my feet, serving me at the table.  Yet that is what Jesus says will happen.

How much more of a servant should we be, who are mere mortals?!   We can wash his feet by washing the feet of a brother or sister, of a fellow human being that needs to be touched with tender servanthood by one of his disciples.  Let’s get a basin and get busy!

PRAYER:  Give us servant’s hearts that are pleased and joyful to serve our Master and others!! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2022 by Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 12/15/21 – When Jesus Became an Ant

Philippians 2:3-8 (NLT) – Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

This is an interesting telling of the Christmas story, one that you probably won’t hear preached about much this Advent season.  But it is perhaps an even more brutally honest telling of the story than the sentimentalized manger scene, animals, shepherds and singing angels. 

The pastor on Sunday spoke from this passage.  He talked about how he hates ants and how their house had recent been infested by the rascals.  He considered preaching to them, asking them to repent for their “trespasses”, but realized it would be fruitless.  He thought about telling them how forgiving he could be if they’d just stop.  He thought about telling them about hell if they didn’t stop.  He knew that wouldn’t do any good, either.  They were crawling on his desk and he was smashing them with his thumb when he realized one that he’d smashed seem to have survived the ordeal but was writing in pain.  He faced the choice of letting it suffer or ending the suffering.  He chose the latter.

Then he talked about the spiritual application: God had been trying to speak to us for thousands of years, yet we didn’t stop going our own way.  He tried to show His long-suffering nature, but we continued to give Him plenty of reasons to bear with us.  He told about fearful judgment – but we ignored that, too. 

What was God to do?  If He wanted the ants (us) to understand about Him, He would have to become an ant, too.  So that was what happened when Jesus emptied himself of eternal glory…and became an ant.

How would you have felt if you were given the choice of literally becoming an ant so you could communicate with them?  Who among us would do so? 

Yet Jesus did more than that.  He became one of us (humans are even lower than ants to an infinite God – the distance in worth is far wider!).  Willingly.  And when he did, we ants abused him.  Then we killed him. 

But here’s the real shocker: he became an ant knowing we would do that to him.  And therein lies the wonder of CHRISTmas. 

PRAYER: How glorious you are for your self-abasing love for us!  In Your name, Amen.

Copyright 2021 by Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 10/13/21 – The Servant Commander

During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier. Their leader was shouting instructions but making no attempt to help them. Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, “Sir, I am a corporal!” The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, “Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again.” With that George Washington got back on horse and rode off.

Where did Washington learn such leadership skills? I have no doubt he learned them here. In these words of Jesus: Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. The young corporal had these words modeled to him from the man at the top. The disciples, likewise, receive from their leader a picture of servant hood.

And it is high time they start imitating their leader. It seems to me that never in my lifetime have I witnessed so many people striving for power – yet unwilling to serve others.

It isn’t easy humbling oneself, is it? Pride was the original sin and it likely remains the #1 sin today.

How is your heart? What are you willing to give up to serve others less fortunate, less powerful, less lovely than yourself? I’m sure that Jesus saw Washington get off his horse to help construct a battlement…and I’m sure he’s watching us today, too.

PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for showing us the greatest example of humility in history! Give us the hunger to imitate you in service as well as in piety. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2021 by Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 10/05/21 – Repenting of Righteousness

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. – Mt. 5:20

How righteous are you?  Let me reword that: how righteous do you feel you are?  Most Christians I know would give one of two responses to that question.  If they are trying to give the proper, honest answer to how righteous they felt, most would be quick to admit that they often don’t feel very righteous at all.  It is the answer that is expected from us if we can truly let our guard down and be honest about who – and what – we are: sinners with a capital S.

Yet, isn’t it also true that we still have within us a certain pride about our righteousness?  If we do something good for someone, we feel pretty good about ourselves for a while.  Maybe we sacrificed something personally to do a good turn for another person.  And when we do, if we are to be honest about this, we have a bit of pride well up within us and we like it.

Timothy Keller, the author/pastor, put it this way: “You need to repent of your righteousness.”  What was he getting at?  I think there are several things he might have meant:

FIRST: as long as we feel we are righteous on our own, we will not feel that we need Jesus’ righteousness…instead, we’ll think we can do it on our own. And that’s deadly.

SECOND: we need to guard against the pride that stalks us and causes us to puff up when we do something good for another person.  For all our protestations that we feel so unworthy and unrighteous, we do tend to think, in moments of our largesse, that we’re pretty good!!!  Pride is such a dangerous thing – and so insidious.  Even doing something good can cause something evil (pride) to spring forth in our hearts.

May we all repent of our righteousness…and rejoice only in His righteousness!

PRAYER: Father, forgive us of our seemingly endless pride.  Let us hold to no other righteous other than that of Your Son, Jesus!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2021 by Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 8/30/21 – Our Depth of Field

Galen is out of the office until 9/13. DayBreaks from the archive will be featured until he returns.

Mark 8:22-25 – They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”  He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”  Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Vision is such a precious possession.  Of all the senses that we would most hate to lose, most of us would probably hate to lose our sight.  Imagine never being able to see the face of your loved ones, to see a puppy frolic in the yard or a calf leaping wildly in a field of green grass. 

In his work, Understanding and Applying the Bible, Robertson McQuilkin was speaking about our depth of field.  As a frequent airline traveler, I understand where he’s coming from: “The first time I flew over the Blue Ridge mountains I realized a little of the great difference a person’s point of view makes in his perspective.  The heavens indeed are far above the earth, and these familiar mountains that had seemed so great when I had climbed them or driven over them could hardly be distinguished from one another.  I actually asked the pilot, after we had crossed the range, when we would reach it!  Big and little took on entirely different meanings.  I came to wonder if we really see anything in divine perspective – as God sees it and as we will see it one day.  We certainly see nothing in completeness.  Our depth of field is very shallow.  When we focus on one thing, other things seem to get out of focus with reality.  Only God in His infinite scope of vision can keep all reality in focus.  C. S. Lewis put it this way: ‘Five senses; an incurably abstract intellect; a haphazardly selective memory; a set of preconceptions and assumptions so numerous that I can never examine more than a minority of them – never become even conscious of them all.  How much of total reality can such an apparatus let through?’”

In the story of the blind man, the first touch of Jesus yielded only a shadowy vision – something the man couldn’t really recognize clearly.  His depth of vision and clarity of vision were not correct.  It is not clear from verse 23 if Jesus actually touched the man’s eyes the first time, or merely spit on them (the ancients believed spit contained medicinal value – even today, when we hurt our fingers, don’t we often place them in our mouth?) and put his hands on the man somewhere.  But in verse 25 it is clear – it takes the touch of Jesus to open blind eyes, restore sight, and allow us to see things clearly.

I believe we live in a Christian culture that is desperately in need of Jesus to open our eyes anew.  We listen to the arguments of the world as to why abortion is okay.  We listen to the world say that since teens will be teens anyway, that we should give them all free birth control at school.  We listen to many of the world’s lies and don’t seem to be able to see through the smokescreen and see the truth of God behind it that says, “No!  That’s wrong!”  Satan can concoct some great story lines to make even the saints get confused and be led astray (Mark 13:22). 

The shallowness of our depth perception should drive us to Jesus for healing for our failing vision.  It should also make us humble before our fellow man when we realize how poor our vision truly is. 

Rev. 3:17-18 – You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”

PRAYER: Jesus, open our eyes to Truth, fill our hearts with courage, correct our flawed perspective, open our ears to Your voice and Your voice alone!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

DayBreaks for 8/17/21 – Getting Over Yourself

Psalm 23: 3 – …for His name’s sake.

Ah, yes.  Our self-image.  We are prone to image problems!  It seems that most people are either despairing because they feel they have no worth to anyone (even God) or they think they’re pretty special (after all, they know their own thoughts like no one else does) and that everyone would do well to be as wonderful, smart, beautiful or talented as they are.   Then, there are some who understand what they are in-and-of-themselves, and how that has been counterbalanced by what they are in Christ.  These are the fortunate ones that understand that though we are sinners, we can wash our robes pure in the blood of the Lamb, that God loves them passionately, and that He has declared them worthy.

Jesus clearly taught how God feels about those who are prideful: I tell you, when this man went home, he was right with God, but the Pharisee was not.  All who make themselves great will be made humble, but all who make themselves humble will be made great. (Lk. 18:14) God loves the humble, but hates the proud.  It is important to note that when humans take the initiative to make themselves great (“all who make themselves great…”) they will “be made” humble, but those who make themselves humble will “be made” great.  Is it not a much greater thing to be made something by God instead of by yourself? 

How is humility cultivated?  Max Lucado in Traveling Light offered tips on how to get over yourself to learn humility:

1. Assess yourself honestly: “Humility isn’t the same as low self-esteem.  Being humble doesn’t mean you think you have nothing to offer; it means you know exactly what you have to offer and no more.”
2. Don’t take success too seriously:“Scripture gives this warning – ‘When your…silver and gold increase…your heart will become proud.’  Counteract this pride with reminders of the brevity of life and the frailty of wealth.  Ponder your success and count your money in a cemetery, and remember that neither of the two is buried with you.”
3. Celebrate the significance of others: “In humility consider others better than yourselves.”
4. Don’t demand your own parking place:“Go sit in a seat that is not important.  When the host comes to you, he may say, ‘Friend, move up here to a more important place.’  Then all the other guests will respect you.’ (Lk. 14:10) Demanding respect is like chasing a butterfly.  Chase it, and you’ll never catch it.  Sit still, and it may light on your shoulder.”
5. Don’t announce your success before it occurs:  “One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.”  (1 Kings 20:11)  Simply put: don’t brag about defeating an enemy or conquering a mountain before you’ve actually conquered it.  It is easy to brag before going into battle, but who (besides God) knows if you will fall?  If you don’t, and you come out alive, remember it was by His grace that you live to see another day.
6. Speak humbly: “Let no arrogance come from your mouth.”  (1 Sam. 2:3)
7. Live at the foot of the cross: “Paul said, ‘The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging’ (Gal. 6:14)  Do you feel a need for affirmation?  Does your self-esteem need attention?  You need only pause at the base of the cross to be reminded of this: The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you.”

Have you been a bit puffed up lately?  Re-read Max’s list and pray about it.  Have you been feeling down on yourself lately?  Re-read Max’s list and pray about it.  Know who you are, what you are, what you have to offer – and most of all, where it all comes from!

PRAYER: It amazes me, Jesus, how we can go from humble to proud in a heartbeat, and how we can even be proud of our humility!  Adjust our perspective and keep our self-image fully informed by Your Word.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2021, Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 9/25/20 – Pouring the Sea Down a Hole

NOTE: I am on a “retirement/anniversary” trip and will be out until late September. In the meantime, I’m sharing recycled DayBreaks for 2010. Thanks for your understanding!

From the DayBreaks archive, September 2010:

One thing that has always puzzled me is how atheists think.  I sometimes wonder if they do think seriously about the question of God and His existence.  I must admit that I struggle to think about God, too, but in a different way.  I find myself pondering His character, His nature, His power, wisdom, greatness – and I soon find that I’ve come to the end of my ability to grasp infinite things.  I wish I could understand more about Him!  I hope that when we are in eternity with Him that somehow, our capacity to understand His mind and ways is increased.  I don’t believe we’ll know all about Him, for He is infinite – something which we will never be, even though we will have eternal life.  We will still, I think, be finite creatures – and He will remain as He is – infinite.  And we shall delight in our eternal discoveries of and about Him!  Perhaps atheists give up thinking about God because they can’t understand Him.  I can understand that to a degree – it can be frustrating to ponder something that you just don’t “get” – like biochemistry or nuclear physics or the theory of relativity.  But it can also be very rewarding and cause us to grow and discover new horizons that we had no idea even existed. 

Augustine walked the seashore one day, pondering the majesty of God.  He saw a small boy who had dug a hole in the sand.  The boy kept scooting down to the ocean, scooping up water in a seashell, and scrambling back to pour the water in the hole.

“What are you doing?” Augustine asked him.

“I’m going to pour the sea into that hole,” the boy said.

“Ah,” Augustine thought, “That is what I have been trying to do.  Standing at the ocean of infinity, I have tried to grasp it with my finite mind.”

It is fun (not to mention extremely profitable!) to try to grasp and understand as much as we can about God – but it should humble us as well and reveal to us our own finitude and creatureliness. 

PRAYER: God, we long to revel in Your infinite Presence forever!  Daily, let us grasp new truths about You as we walk through this life, truth that will draw us into a closer and more intimate relationship with You!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2020 by Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>