Sunsets and Editorials
Clouds around here are usually modest little things that sit around the horizon like wallflowers. A few strays may show up and contribute charming puffs of orange to a sunset, but today was different. Robust fellows showed up and formed an imposing scene. Here's a sample ...
The slow-motion descent of the sun, the shifting of color, the subtle changes in cloud formation, all create a spectacle that both inspires and relaxes. It is so much more pleasant than an abrupt switching off the light at day's end.
Such meditation led me to think of how God's creative 'days' are described in similar terms:
"And there was evening and there was morning, a first day." (Gen. 1:5)
"And there was evening and there was morning, a second day." (Gen. 1:8) - etc.
It seems to imply a progressive but calmly gradual creative pace. And is this not Jehovah's usual way of doing things? To illustrate, Ezekiel 10:4 says, "...and the house gradually became filled with the cloud." Mark 4:28 says, "On its own the ground bears fruit gradually."
It makes one wonder about what is called "The Big Bang Theory." This theory supposes the universe came into being by a virtual explosion of matter. In the late 1920's it was discovered the universe is expanding in all directions so the assumption was made it must have started with a big bang.
One thing about explosions though - they may start off with a bang but the flying debris tends to slow down and eventually stop. Decades later a further discovery indicated the universe is not only expanding but doing so, not at a slowing rate, but rather an accelerating rate. Run this video backwards and you get, not a big bang at the start, but instead a somewhat leisurely, or gradual, parting of the ways.
But who really knows? A theory is "a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural" according to my iPad dictionary. This means a theory can be, in technical terms, wrongety-wrong-wrong.
None of us really know how Jehovah made the universe, whether with a big bang or a majestic hush, but personally I like to take my cue from Revelation 4:3 that describes Jehovah's throne this way, "... and all around the throne was a rainbow like an emerald in appearance." The Insight book says, "The restful emerald-green color of the rainbow would have suggested composure and serenity to John, and appropriately so since Jehovah is the master of every situation, a glorious ruler."
Would this symbolism justify favoring the idea of a progressive but calmly gradual creative pace? As noted above, lacking hard facts about how the universe was created, I'd personally like to think so.
Yes, all of this from watching tonight's peaceful sunset.
The slow-motion descent of the sun, the shifting of color, the subtle changes in cloud formation, all create a spectacle that both inspires and relaxes. It is so much more pleasant than an abrupt switching off the light at day's end.
Such meditation led me to think of how God's creative 'days' are described in similar terms:
"And there was evening and there was morning, a first day." (Gen. 1:5)
"And there was evening and there was morning, a second day." (Gen. 1:8) - etc.
It seems to imply a progressive but calmly gradual creative pace. And is this not Jehovah's usual way of doing things? To illustrate, Ezekiel 10:4 says, "...and the house gradually became filled with the cloud." Mark 4:28 says, "On its own the ground bears fruit gradually."
It makes one wonder about what is called "The Big Bang Theory." This theory supposes the universe came into being by a virtual explosion of matter. In the late 1920's it was discovered the universe is expanding in all directions so the assumption was made it must have started with a big bang.
One thing about explosions though - they may start off with a bang but the flying debris tends to slow down and eventually stop. Decades later a further discovery indicated the universe is not only expanding but doing so, not at a slowing rate, but rather an accelerating rate. Run this video backwards and you get, not a big bang at the start, but instead a somewhat leisurely, or gradual, parting of the ways.
But who really knows? A theory is "a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural" according to my iPad dictionary. This means a theory can be, in technical terms, wrongety-wrong-wrong.
None of us really know how Jehovah made the universe, whether with a big bang or a majestic hush, but personally I like to take my cue from Revelation 4:3 that describes Jehovah's throne this way, "... and all around the throne was a rainbow like an emerald in appearance." The Insight book says, "The restful emerald-green color of the rainbow would have suggested composure and serenity to John, and appropriately so since Jehovah is the master of every situation, a glorious ruler."
Would this symbolism justify favoring the idea of a progressive but calmly gradual creative pace? As noted above, lacking hard facts about how the universe was created, I'd personally like to think so.
Yes, all of this from watching tonight's peaceful sunset.
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