Well I'm Still Here

Dear Sisters and Brothers,
I wanted to wait until after six PM, Pacific Standard Time, on May 21st, before blogging, because i wanted to make sure God didn't have other plans for me. I didn't know if i would be at the gates, standing before St. Peter, or running for my life from some malevolent force, so i wanted to wait. Well its Saturday night, nearly an hour after the rapture was supposed to have happened, and yes, I am still here. And as i look around the only forces around that seem malevolent or a little diabolical are the two baristas that invited me to try a coffee sampling with them, and as the caffeine kicks in, sleep might not ever come.

As much as we love talking through and about theories about God's plan for eternity, the truth is that we can and will never know what and how God will totally restore God's Kingdom on this planet. It is and should be a mystery, and we need to embrace that mystery, because as i have discovered through studying history and my own personal experiences, human hands, though capable of great good are also capable of great evil. If we knew the time and day, we would, i think, be rather deviant and devilish, instead of Godly. Perhaps that is why only the Father knows.

That is a challenge too, isn't it? When something is labeled only God knows, it makes life hard to explain. How did that person wake up cancer free? Only God knows? It was a miracle! Yes it was, but how can we explain that? We can't. Or how did that person lift the car off of their son? Sure we attribute it to the "God" juice of adrenaline, something we should probably pay attention to, but truth is, why can't all parents save their children in similiar situations? God only knows? And how does a church, a ministry, anything go from such small numbers and no budget to impacting thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions, such as Red Cross, Salvation Army, or Heifer Project International? I dont know, so i will just add, God only knows.

And that is how it must be. If we discover the truth then the power lies in our hands, faith no longer is necessary, and we can harness that power and abuse it, like we do so many other things, and God, like lepers in society today, goes to the margins, easily forgotten, overlooked, and ignored. It is imperative and necessary that God only knows remains the only answer to so many mysteries.

As it was on that day when Jesus fed the multitudes, for the second time. How? Wasn't one enough? The only answer, God only knows. And as long as that is the only answer, faith remains vital, God a mystery and omnipotent, and life still has promise for all. Perhaps God only knows isn't so bad afterall. I mean i am still here; i just hope i am not the only one. It makes writing a blog a rather lonely affair. Amen.

Shalom,
jerry