This is such a strange story. A Catholic priest, trying “to raise money for a spiritual rest-stop for truckers in Paranagua” (Brazil), strapped himself to a chair tied to hundreds of balloons and lifted off in an attempt to break the record for the most hours flying by balloons. It begs the question, how far are you willing to go for Jesus? Are you willing to be carried away for Him?
The sad part is that the priest was reported missing about 8 hours later and they have yet to be able to find him. Authorities say that the priest is an experienced skydiver and had a parachute pack strapped to him as well. Hopefully they will find him soon. Like I said, strange story.
No, this is not some deep metaphor explaining human nature from the beginning of life. What you see is what you get. This is literally a baby with two faces. I have never seen anything like it. Even crazier is the fact that doctors have a term for this condition: craniofacial duplication. The fact that a term already exists for this condition makes it obvious that this little girl is not the first two faced baby.
Like mentally handicap people, the picture of this little girl moves me. It is sad. It should be a very plain reminder that this world is not right. There is something very wrong with this world, this existence. It drives me back to the cross. It reminds me of the faith I have in Christ…that my life has been made new. God has poured out his grace on me. And the best part…His grace is made available to all people through Christ.
My friend Matt Burns has written an excellent two part series (Part 1 and Part 2) that seeks to view the homeless through a biblical lens. He identifies several types of homeless people and then poses this question: ”So now I ask you , fine readers, what do you do? Do you give them the cash? Do you ignore them and walk on by?”
In Part 2, Matt writes about the similarities between the homeless and everyone else on this planet. We approach God for salvation like the homeless approach people for money on the street. As Brennan Manning says, “We are the beggars at the foot of God’s door.” In the end, I would contend that we should be beggars at the foot of the cross. If we find ourselves in that position, we will find a God of love who has satisfied his holy wrath and judgment on his own Son. We will find a God, the God, who never turns away a beggar.
Mark Dever has written an excellent little piece on pursuing the will of God in everyday life and decisions. Dever is concerned that too many Christians are bound by the chains of “finding God’s will.” This phrase is often used in regard to vocation or big life decisions. I sat in several classes and discussions during my undergrad days listening to classmates stress and labor on every little decision in the hopes of finding the will of God. I will say that the desire to please God and serve Him in every area of life is the type of attitude we should carry as Christians. However, as Dever points out, far too many Christians get completely stressed out and bound by thinking that they need some sort of sign for every decision they make.
First off, what does this sign look like? It can be so subjective that no one can question it even if it sounds absurd. I’m not trying to limit the Lord here because he sometimes uses subjective means to speak to us. But it is hard to trust subjective “signs.” Second, what does it mean to “find” the will of God? Was it hiding? Did I misplace it? Did it fall between the cracks in the couch? Finally, what do we truly mean when we are searching for the will of God? It seems to me that Scripture has clearly laid out the will and desire of God. He desires that all should come to know Him. The will of God entails repenting, believing, and living for Him in every area of our lives. Are we free to make decisions without playing craps to find the answer? Indeed. God has given us a mind and when we consecrate it to the Lord, He renews and reforms it. The “free” choices that we make are then based on the new heart and new mind that God has given to us through faith in Christ. They are also based on the words of Scripture. In short, we are free to choose as long as our choices do not contradict Scripture.
Bruce Waltke wrote a book called Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion? that firmly addresses this issue. Run out and pick it up. It is a must read. Make sure to read Dever’s article as well. And rest assured that choosing to eat that turkey sandwich instead of a Big Mac is ok.
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