Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

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29 April 10

    Good morning, dear people.

    Excuse me a minute.  I want to walk down by the creek behind our pump house and see if there are still any trilliams.  I may be late.  (walk, walk, walk)  Sure enough...I'm late.  There are some there, but they're withered and about gone.  But I did pick a dainty little blossom from what a friend tells me is a "Pseudo Solomon Seal."  It is an incredibly fragrant little flower.  Here, I'll stick it down by the keyboard.  See what I mean?  I mean, smell what I mean?

    At least I stopped for a moment to smell the roses...or Pseudo Solomon Seals.

    Have a great day.  I sure need one.

            Love and prayers.  Dad/Ray

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29 April 2010
Passage:  Mark 16
Focus: “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.”  Mark 16:8

            My hunch is that both God and angels have a measure of delight when they have occasion to interrupt normal human affairs with the supernatural and scare the starch out of our natural wits.  Just like little kids who love to hide in some unsuspecting place and take you by surprise when they jump out in front of you and say, “Boo!”  Even if the kid has a mask on to give the illusion of being a gorilla, or has a sheet over him in an attempt at appearing to be a ghost, our surprise will not normally last very long.  Your heart may skip a few beats in the initial shock, but then quiets down quickly in view of the obvious.  But when a truly supernatural being presents himself in a supernatural way, that’s another cup of tea.  Very likely the universal effect on human senses will be something like “trembling and bewildered.”  To carry my hunch a little further, I kind of think that the angel was kind of biting his lip.  The first thing he said was, “Do not be alarmed,” even though he knew full well that it was virtually impossible for them to not be alarmed.  I think he really wanted to say, “Boo!”  Certainly the scene before these ladies and their normal emotional reaction was creating the same effect.

            With or without the supernatural, I believe that occasions of trembling that leaves one feeling bewildered are unavoidable in the course of living.  And with or without our meeting the supernatural, I believe that God, at least indirectly, ordains those emotional crises.  Why?  Because those experiences actually test the quality of belief and stimulate the exercise of trust.  Those circumstances that create “trembling and bewildered” are essential to the growth of a strong and mature faith.  So, “do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering (…that leaves you ‘trembling and bewildered’), as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice…” (1 Pet. 4:12-13).  “What, then, shall we say in response to this?  If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31).  I’m convinced that real belief in simple and profound concepts like this will go a long way in helping us apply a vital antidote to the natural condition of “trembling and bewildered.”