Lightning Faith

If you've read some of my blog articles you may notice a reoccurring theme. I tend to build analogies out of things/concepts found in nature or every-day-life and tie them to some type of spiritual revelation I've had. I think this is product of "awe". Albert Einstein once said "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." I'm of the latter persuasion.

I can't ignore the beauty and mystery evident all around me in creation (Romans 1:20). You can tell a lot about a painter by studying their paintings. You can tell a lot about a musician by listening to their songs. You can tell a lot about the Author of life by looking at the words He used to form it. As I consider the works of His hands (Psalm 8:3-4), I can't help but see a reflection of Him.

With that preface, my latest muse has been the somewhat un-explainable natural phenomenon that is lightning. Although scientists have figured out a lot about what causes lightning, they are still at odds about the exact conditions under which it occurs. The same goes for tornadoes and many other weather-related extremes. To that I say, you can't tame a Lion (Hosea 11:10, Revelations 5:5). No matter how much we attempt to understand the world around us, I firmly believe that, if we are being honest with ourselves, we will eventually get to point where the only plausible explanation is intelligent design, i.e. God did it.

The more I research the vast amount of information we do know about lightning though, the more I am seeing a majestic meteorological metaphor. Bear with me here as I set the stage with some science talk.

There are many different types of lightning but one of the common forms that we see actually starts from the ground up. That's right, if you slowed that nearly-instantaneous flash of light down, which is a feat in and of itself, you can see that the lightning is starting from the earth and branching upward, towards the heavens (see video below).



When a storm cloud has formed and an electrical field has been established, all that is needed is a conductive path for the negative cloud bottom to contact the positive earth surface and cause a lightning strike. The final path is not created instantaneously though. In fact, there are usually many separate paths of ionized air stemming from the cloud. These paths are typically referred to as step leaders.1

Still with me? Hang in there. I'm going somewhere with this.

There are various factors that affect the direction of the step leader. We are taught that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line; but in the case of electric fields, the lines of force, called flux lines, may not follow the shortest distance, as the shortest distance does not always represent the path of least resistance.1 (credit: science.howstuffworks.com)

Some of you are "resisting" the academic "path" this blog just took. Okay okay. I'll get to my point.

Lightning is a powerful connection between the earth and the heavens.

Faith is also a powerful connection between the earth and the heavens.

I believe the Kingdom of heaven responds to faith and when we exercise it in an extraordinary fashion, powerful things happen; a very real connection between heaven and earth forms. I don't think God can resist getting involved when we are asking things according to His will (1 John 5:14) and actually believing them in our heart.

If there was an economy in heaven, I think the currency would be faith. First off, what value would money or precious stones hold in a place where the streets are made of gold? Secondly, all throughout the bible, God seems to have the strongest relationships with people who place all of their trust in Him; Noah, Abraham, Elijah, David, Peter, Paul, the list goes on. They all leaned not on their own understanding but submitted that God had a bigger plan in mind, which of course He always does. (Proverbs 3:5,6)

So, just like ground-to-cloud lightning that needs a step leader to emerge from the positively charged earth surface, God is just waiting on a positively charged leader to emerge among His people so He can show off with them.

Take note as well that the path the lightning ends up taking is not always the shortest path but rather the path of least resistance. God is not looking for the "best option" or the most likely candidate to impact the world. Societal status, reputation, credentials - He doesn't care about that stuff.  He searches the hearts and minds and bestows the favor and honor (Jeremiah 17:10). He uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27). He wants your heart and all of it.

When lightning strikes, it's impressive. I don't think that many would be in dispute of that. The same goes for when God shows up, whether it's in changing someones life, breaking off an addiction, healing someones sore back, or literally parting the seas - it immediately evokes a response from all who bore witness. For some that response is one of worship and attributing the glory and honor where it is due. For others, the response is fear, and they withdraw.

"His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles."
Psalm 97:4

A single lightning strike produces temperatures hotter than the surface of the sun (and capable of sending a DeLorean back to the future). Jesus said "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father." (John 14:12)



When the conditions in the atmosphere of the kingdom are just right, our faith reaching up - a "step leader" on the ladder to heaven - forms a connection that triggers a release of power that can be seen and heard all across the earth.

@KyleHopson1


References:

1 http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/lightning4.htm

Dangerously Unaware

I personally find the prospect of carrying a gun around a bit unnerving. I have never fired anything beyond "bb" caliber. Mostly because the opportunity has never really presented itself but I'm not exactly going out of my way to try it out either. I would call it a healthy fear. It's not a crippling fear by any means. Perhaps more of a deep respect. There's something about the idea of carrying the power of life and death in my pocket that I feel would steal the "lighthearted" out of everything.

I'm sure if ever found myself on a gun range or fending off an alien invasion, I could bring myself to squeeze the the trigger. My heart too resonates with the battle cry of a soldier just like my fellow man. I've even fought in my fair share of imaginary battles, wielding everything from a six-shooter to a laser sniper rifle equipped with an x-ray scope and rocket launcher attachment. And that was just last week. But tucking the cold steel of 9mm into my belt right now would more likely put me in a cold sweat. All my mind would be doing is... 

I have a gun. I have a gun. I have a gun. It's tucked in my belt by my left butt cheek. Act natural. Act natural... THAT GUY KNOWS! HE SMILED AT ME FUNNY SO HE KNOWS! Oh gosh...

"Excuse me sir, why are you looking at me like I'm lethal? Why would you even think that?!"

"Oh hi, ma'am! Nothing's extremely dangerous on me, how are you today?... I have a gun."

I would be awkwardly conscious of the weapon I was carrying.

I've been around people who "conceal & carry" before. I didn't always know they were "concealing & carrying" though. One time I got a glimpse of a gun tucked into my friend's belt and, although we had a good 3-years worth of trust built up in our relationship, I suddenly found myself quickly rifling through all of the "disagreements" we might have had to make sure they all resolved happily.

To be clear, I am not against guns or the concept of conceal & carry. We need to protect ourselves and the people we love and when it comes the right tool for the job, well, you know how the saying goes "don't bring a knife to a gun fight". I'm sure I would get used to it with some training and time. I should probably see to that before my daughter hits her "teens".

Now here comes the metaphor...

This same concept often happens when we find Jesus for the first time.

Yeah. Jesus is like the gun. The first time you start carrying him with you, in your heart, you are so aware of the power present on your person. The power of life and death that can impact everyone in every room you walk into.

But what happens is, over time, we grow comfortable with that power, even take it for granted. My friends who conceal and carry do it without a skipping a beat. It doesn't phase them because they've done it for so long. The same goes for Jesus. As we mature in our faith, we forget about our first love.

In fact, God warns us against growing complacent like this in the letter addressed to the Church of Ephesus in Revelations:

"Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love." Revelation 2:4

The Church of Ephesus was doing a lot of things right but they had forgotten about the darkness from which they were plucked and had grown used to the grace that was covering them. Parents know all about this. Think ungrateful, spoiled teenagers who don't know how good they've got it. The next verse goes on to say...

"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."

So, let us not forget the passion of when we first encountered the love of Jesus and the power of his forgiveness. Let us walk into every room fully aware of the redeeming love that lives inside us and use that power to change the lives around us.

Encourage someone today. Spread the Good News. Breathe life where there is none. Bring hope to the hopeless. Esteem others higher than yourself. If someone asks for a favor, do more than the favor. Call someone and ask for forgiveness. Release freedom in your workplace. Show love to an enemy. Go out of your way to bless someone.

These are blows made by a blade sharper than any double-edged sword, that cuts deep into workings of evil and break the chains that hold us back from walking as joint-heirs to a Kingdom more glorious than we could ever imagine.

Scriptures that fueled this blog:

2 Corinthians 10:3,4

Revelations 2:4,5

Proverbs 18:21

Matthew 5-7 (Sermon on the mount)

Romans 8:17

Hebrews 4:12

Mark 16:15

Rhetoric: Cognitive Atrophy Theory

I've been thinking...

What is technology doing to our brains?

By technology I'm referring stuff like the internet and mobile phones and touch interfaces.

There's this concept I picked up from a book - yeah, that's right, a book - and it's called "transactive memory". In my words, the concept is this: we don't store information we know how to find. 

Take, for example, a phone book. You don't remember the phone numbers in there because you know where to find your phone book.

Who uses a phone book any more anyways? And who is delivering them to my house? How are they in business? Someone should tell them about Google. And then they should talk to a recycling business.

The book I read was focusing on how this concept, transactive memory, impacts relationships. In my marriage, I store information like computer troubleshooting, video game reviews, car repairs costs, etc. My wife stores information like hair cutting techniques, casserole recipes, fashion trends, etc.

When my daughter was 2 it just-so-happened that it worked best for me to take her to swimming lessons on Fridays. It wasn't necessarily my top choice as I'm not the biggest fan of swimming. Everything that lives in water is faster and slimier than me. Anyways, one of the moms in the class seemed to think I was a mom. She would ask things like "Where do you typically grocery shop around here?", "Little Suzie seems to break out in a rash from the chemicals in this water. Have you noticed that?", "We live far away so I like to get all of my errands out of the way in one trip, ya know?" I'm sorry lady. No I don't. I'm a dad. I pick up heavy things and make kids laugh with fart noises.

I realize the household responsibilities vary from couple to couple, but generally, people in relationships differ in what they do and what they are good at. That's why, the book was saying, some people take breakups so hard. All of the sudden, they can't find half of their information. I'm so used to bouncing ideas off my wife that I sometimes have trouble making tough decisions when I'm away from her.

Wow, how did I get so far off topic? Here's hoping all of that helped build good springboard for my overall point.

When we don't have to remember what you can easily find and everything is easy to find, what are we remembering? 

Google practically thinks for you. You don't even have to type to a whole word or spell it correctly and it already has what you were looking for within the top 5 results. Finding it took all of 1 second. Sometimes I feel like I'm actually holding Google up. As if it's saying "Come on, just start typing what you're thinking! I've got this! See, I've already started with the results."

When I was in middle school, I remember being asked to report on a country for a Social Studies class. I picked Sweden. I liked their flag colors the best. I spent a whole week researching, renting out library books, and skimming over the pages for any morsels of information I could pull out. After all that work, which I was proud of by the way, I had a colorful poster highlighting the types of food they ate, the geographical layout, some nice population stats, their awesome flag, etc.

Now, Wikipedia makes all of that work seem laughable (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden). Even if schools don't let you cite Wiki as a valid reference, you can follow the breadcrumbs in the reference section to get to the original source. I wonder if middle schools assign reports like that anymore?

Ultimate convenience seems to the destination we're headed. Mobile phones, tablets, TVs everywhere, intuitive touch interfaces. My children are already trying to "swipe" the screen on my laptop to scroll down only to be frustrated that it isn't working.

What would happen if a gigantic electromagnetic wave put the entire world into a blackout and wiped every bit of data of the face of the earth? All of the data and records, gone into oblivion. Any of you glass-half-full-ers wanna take a stab?

Are we suffering from cognitive atrophy? Some might say these advances free up our minds up to think about other things. If we are only using 20% to begin with, why did we need to free some up? How did Adam remember all the names of the animals if he didn't write them down?

Will we be able to "think" our Google searches soon? Are there going to be any "experts" in the future if we all have instant access to the same information?

Time will tell, I suppose.

One Quirky Snowflake

I sometimes think God let's me believe I came up with an idea when it was really His. Only when I look back on the outstanding circumstances under which I came to the realization do I notice the depth of wisdom behind it and realize there is no other explanation of the occurrence than: He planted it there. 

My wife knows this about me as well, much to her chagrin. She can tell me an amazing idea or thought but knows that I won't really own it or endorse it until I feel like I've come to the understanding by my own willpower... that must be frustrating. It's something I'm working on. I've got to learn to be more supportive in the moment rather than retreating into my thoughts to process things only to regurgitate the idea/thought on a later date, unbeknownst to the idea originator. Is that intellectual plagiarism? But then again, wouldn't another word for intellectual plagiarism just be "learning"? Either way, I think I'm weird.

What I find interesting is that God knows my quirkiness and works with it. I guess that shouldn't surprise me. That's like being surprised that a painter knows the subtle nuances of their painting or a composer knows the disjunct melodic tendencies of their composition.

I wish everyone would discover their quirkiness and embrace it. It is that which makes us unique from the billions of other people on the planet. Scientists have studied snowflakes and found that no two of them are alike when scrutinized under a microscope. My mind can't wrap around the infinite creativity of that. Not only are they unique to one-another but they are also all beautiful! If I had to design millions of snowflakes, I think I could do a decent job but at some point they would start to lose their symmetry and look like Picasso drew them... not that Picasso's paintings are ugly... who am I kidding, they are freakishly disfigured drawings that are upsetting to look at, in my opinion of course. I can appreciate avant-garde jazz but I just don't see eye-to-eye with Picasso.