Today’s Word from Pastor Tom…
“For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. “ Psalm 92.4
With one day yet of travel, we are 3,400 miles into this adventure. When it comes to car travel our typical MO is to load the car and get to our destination as quickly as possible, i.e., Interstate Highway with cruise control at speed limit plus 4. Picking a different drive-thru constitutes an adventure. So much for the romance of the highway. I suspect you are not surprised.
This was different. For whatever reason I had long held a fascination with the notion of visiting Death Valley. Brenda held a similar dream for the Grand Canyon. And so, we plotted our trip with potential highlighted routes on our AAA map. We left gaps in the calendar for spontaneous excursions (What? You didn’t think I could do that?), and assumed we would find a place to rest at night. We did, though not always within 100 miles of where we had anticipated.
Along the way we enjoyed the hospitality of friends and family. This has been a life-giving adventure. Did you know there is a golf course in Death Valley? Furnace Creek Golf Course, elevation 214 feet below sea level. The lowest elevation golf course in America. Perfect in January, not so perfect in July. There are ponds on the golf course for goodness sakes! Wait, wait! There’s obviously more to the desolation of Death Valley than an unexpected golf course. Death Valley, in its simplicity, is beautiful!
We spent two days touring this amazing National Park and hungered for more. We will return. Dante’s View, complete with a drive up a 15% grade left us awed by the simple beauty of this seemingly barren landscape. Isn’t that how paradox works? Out of what at first appears barren, is a surprising complex life.
The only thing surprising about The Grand Canyon is the inadequacy of words to describe what the eyes are drowning in as one stands on the rim of the canyon attempting to take it all in. Capturing the moment by photos is such a shallow effort. Yet, we tried, as has everyone else who has stood for the first time on the edge of a million-years old creation — jaw-drop stunning.
So, here I sit musing over our not quite finished travel adventure, struggling for adjectives to describe the grandeur of creation, and wondering what it would look like if we felt a similar inadequacy to describe God’s love for us? If I were to stretch the analogy, I wonder if our faith is at times in danger of becoming perfunctory? Getting on the Interstate, grabbing some fast food while seldom stopping by the Rim of Life never really being awestruck by how much God loves us?
That’s what grabbed St. Paul. As a self-described perfect religious authority, he was at a loss to describe God’s grace that had saved him. Well, never at a loss for very long, he nonetheless stood on the Rim of Life and wrote at length in an attempt to describe the length and breadth of God’s love for us. “For while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6. At our absolute worst God loved us enough to die, in the flesh of Jesus, an innocent’s death that the world would be reconciled to God. Wow, what a view! To quote the Norwegian bard (my mother), “Uff da!”
Okay, looking forward to seeing you all soon. Continued prayers for safe travel always appreciated.
Love and peace,
Pastor Tom
