Mind Stretching

Whenever as a family, we used go on a long car journey, we would aim to stop for a break after 90 minutes or so. Someone say they needed 'a leg stretch', which has caused amusement for some in the family! Of course, our legs don't stretch, but they do get stiff and enjoy being able to move more easily.

But how often do we take the trouble to stretch our minds? 

Much of modern life, with its relentless busyness, encourages us to be passive absorbers of entertainment, and we too easily allow ourselves to become rigid and limited in our thinking. 

I have to ask myself when was the last time that I explored a new subject area from my usual diet or discovered a new avenue of thinking. As the Psalmist confessed, we are 'fearfully and wonderfully made', and our loving Creator God has given us the capacity for enquiry and curiosity. These are what drive our desire to learn and think. 

In his struggles with his suffering, Job is confronted by God, who asks him some startling questions. 

' “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstoneas the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?' (Job 38.4-7)

Job was challenged to approach the world of nature in humble adoration of the One who made it all. But it is also assumed that a man like Job has been inquisitive and curious about the whole world of nature. 

In his own way, Job must have been a bit like an ancient version of David Attenborough, as the chapters sets out a wonderful description of the ancient natural world. 

“Can you shout to the clouds
    and make it rain?
³⁵ Can you make lightning appear
    and cause it to strike as you direct?
³⁶ Who gives intuition to the heart
    and instinct to the mind?
³⁷ Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
    Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
³⁸ when the parched ground is dry
    and the soil has hardened into clods?

³⁹ “Can you stalk prey for a lioness
    and satisfy the young lions’ appetites
⁴⁰ as they lie in their dens
    or crouch in the thicket?
⁴¹ Who provides food for the ravens
    when their young cry out to God
    and wander about in hunger? (Job 38.34-41)

This evening, upstairs in Church, we will have a chance to have a 'Mind Stretcher' as we consider issues of Science and Faith - are they Friends of enemies? Do come along, at 8pm, if you can.

Every blessing,

Richard