Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear ones.

I spun off on a devotional tangent early in the reading this morning. But the bulk of the reading is certainly relevant and worth our attention as Jesus speaks to the times just preceding THE END. I think we are close—perhaps very close.

The last word of the last verse of the reading is a one-word piece of good advice—WATCH! Surely it doesn’t mean to WATCH like one would watch a serial episode or basketball game on TV. But watch with as much discernment, focus, and understanding as possible. That kind of watching is an antidote to the popular ignorance and deception that Jesus warned about in verse 5.

Among other things already this morning, I took Nicholas with me to have a trailer tire repaired—then we ran on to the farm, greeted the many horses in stalls, pet the cow that provides the milk we use, and picked up a gallon of raw milk and a quart of cream. We add the cream to coffee and tea, and whip some for our daily fruit salad.

May the Lord help us to watch along with the constant awareness that everything tangible that we can see is transient—will not exist beyond time (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Love, Dad/Ray.

If the disciple who exclaimed to Jesus about the spectacular demonstration of human craft and achievement at the Temple could enter a time machine and be allowed some glimpses of what we see and know today as commonplace, I don’t know if he could endure the mental explosion. I can hardly contain my own amazement at the incredible spike in technological advancement over the last 100 years—especially in comparison to all of previous human history. It would be fun to mess up that disciple’s mind and show him around. I’ve had some fun in the past confirming with primitive people in the Solomon Islands that some living Americans have truly landed on that moon that we see shining up there—and walked on it! I’ve had fun demonstrating a microwave oven that heats the contents but not the container—all without fire! Then there’s the playback capabilities of a video camera—and now we have these smart phones! I’ve had fun describing to them my own 1997 heart by-pass surgery to people in Vanuatu. I now wish I could share with some of them the account of Becki’s recent hip-replacement surgery. I think we are supposed to marvel at these things—but marvel with balance—marvel first at the Creator’s amazing creative design work all around us, then marvel at what the Creator has inspired His human creatures to achieve and create.

That disciple is not only spellbound by the display of man’s achievements, now he is spellbound at Jesus’ response. Jesus says nothing that the disciple would have expected, like, “Man, you’re right—this is pretty impressive.” Instead, He seems totally unimpressed and says, “Do you see all these great buildings?” In his mind the disciple may have answered, “Of course I do—that’s why I brought it up.” Jesus continues, “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (v. 2). Talk about popping a kid’s ball

I am translating the words of Jesus’ response to go something like this: “Do you see the vast parade of human achievement in art, architecture, science, medicine, and technology? Try giving it all this spin: There is absolutely nothing in that entire parade that will outlast time! And there is absolutely nothing within that vast array that is a worthy substitute for a personal relationship with the Timeless One. Among humans and all the neat stuff they do and make, only one element is given eternal life—a HEART AFTER GOD.”