I carved this a few years ago. It's still one of my favorite things. Often to be really fruitful, a tree has to be pruned, a vine has to be cut back. And then it produces more. There's also something else in this carving, something that I often put on my artwork. There's a line at the bottom with a dot on both sides. It represents the timeline of humanity, which has a beginning and an end if the Bible is to be believed. And that line is straight, because none of us is above another. When God looks at that line, He sees humanity. He doesn't see one person way up high and one down low, it's not a curve. I often put that on my artwork because it reminds me that even with my high ideals, I'm not allowed to put myself up on a pedestal either. We are all on that line, all on the same level. That actually makes me happy, because it shows that what we can do is make lives as happy and kind as possible on that line. We don't have to strive to be higher than others,...
As I sit here today with the chickens, mulling over guitar god Eddie Van Halen, and reading various bits of his life, his story is encouraging me to ponder the church's reaction to science and the pandemic. Eddie Van Halen was known for his guitar, but he was a man who always quested for the right tool for a particular song. For him, the point was the music, so he was remarkably humble about what tools he chose. And those tools were diverse and intricate, with a much wider range than just guitars. Thinking of his tools makes me wonder whether the church as a whole truly appreciates the tools that God has given it during the pandemic. Of course churchgoers appreciate the theological tools, the men and women who provide well thought out papers arguing a particular theological point. Theology is hugely important for us as Christians. It gives us a basis for how we act, a basis for what becomes layered in our hearts. But what of the science? This is, after all, a viral pandemic, whic...