Opus 2026-194: The Third Option

I have on occasion proposed that the choice is not between either/or but both/and. I find that useful in trying to understand different manuscripts behind the English Bible. Sometimes a word can have a variety of meanings. Maybe the right one was clear to the original audience or maybe they embraced the flexibility.

As I was thinking about trying to delve into the glories of eternity a third option, which I have given passing mention of, reared its outside-the-world-of-beauty head. That is the option of “neither.” My son and I were debating on how we would spend an infinite amount of time and our opinions were all over the place. My mind went back to a discussion we had years ago in California. I pointed out how much he enjoyed playing with blocks when he was a baby and would have had no concept of computer design.

Eternity will be like that.

We can stretch our imagination to the breaking point. We can be insanely clever. We can turn over rocks and dig in the ant hills of life. When it comes down to it we will most likely find out that we didn’t have a clue.

I cannot make decisions based on the third option because I don’t know what it is. I cannot live with that. I can also live in anticipation of crossing the veil and getting my first glimpse of the “neither” that never occurred to me. For now, in this life, I have all the truth I need to live a righteous life and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

I rub my hands in anticipation and giggle with glee at what I will find.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-192: Change Is Forced on Me

I replace my laptop about every three years. We are past that time and so I set my son on a search for something that would not crash in the first month. That brings changes and adjustments in at least two areas.

First, I need to install the software I want and tweak things so that they work. In the process you have a constant battle with Microsoft trying to force itself into what you want. There is always a learning curve. Part of that is finding where they hid everything to be helpful. Others are changes and you can’t find out why.

Second, software. It has been my practice to purchase a new copy of Word Perfect with each computer. They have been playing the old Find-the-Feature game that they do every time. I finally decided to bite the bullet and move to LibreOffice. I am hoping that I will only need to play the game once. I am already finding a lot of features that don’t seem to be available but I am soldiering on.

There will be a lot of hiccups. A gracious reader informed me that my posts were coming up blank. Who was to know that Blogger would make adjustments without asking. I think I figured that one out but in the process I find other things tweaked. I have always published my full post so you don’t need to click “read more”. Now that seems to be the way it is. That always irritates me but I may not fight that battle.

I have made connections I never bothered with before. I got my printer going on WiFi instead of by cable.

I connected my stereo with Bluetooth. Only the future will determine how extreme I will get with this.

Thanks for your patience on my journey.

Now to see if this gets through in readable fashion.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-192: Utopian Carrots

Welcome to the trap of life. I refer to the way in which we begin to compare our situation to our dreams. We compare reality to Utopia and find utopia unreachable. Can you remember playing something like cowboys and Indians based on some grade B westerns you had been watching or a weekly TV show? Have you ever daydreamed about being the gunfighter that cleans up a town? That is all good fun until you actually have to go out and saddle a horse.

Too often we look at things like national politics, our city council or our church pot luck based on the expectations of utopia. Can you believe what the president just did? You ignore the twenty things he did that pleased you and suddenly he is a pariah because he violated your expectations. He may have even been wrong, but his major flaw was he did not do it your way. Or how about that total barbarian that puts beans in his chili? Can you imagine such a thing?

We fall into the trap of chasing perfection that not only does not exist, but cannot exist. It is like chasing a carrot on a stick. We know what we want. We can see it. We can taste it. It is always just out of reach and we never realize it is made of plastic.

We strive to be like our idols. That is also a trap. Part of that is because we don’t know what our idols are really like. I enjoy talking to young girls who are in love with Mr. Darcy. I point out to them that in real life he smells like a horse and believes that taking baths is unhealthy. He also likes kidney pie. Or the young man who falls in love with a movie star that he has never seen without her makeup. He doesn’t realize that she is 35 and not 18 and can’t hold a conversation with anything but the wall.

We often live in a fantasy world. We have a friend who shared that she was considered a great beauty in New England. We all laughed because although she was attractive enough we would never have thought of her that way. If she had accepted their judgment she would have been impossible to live with.

I have no problem with striving for utopia. The real problem is when we think we are close to achieving it. Life doesn’t work that way.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-191: Monday Pulpit: Always an Escape Hatch

Sunday’s sermon was from Numbers 14. As usual my mind wandered as the pastor’s focus left the actual text. As he had read the entire chapter in preparation for leaving it I tried to follow along and pay attention to what it actually said. It was a narrative that I was familiar with but I find that if I pay attention I will see things that have escaped me over the years.

I was not disappointed. The story I have always heard and repeated myself was that God declared Israel would wander in the wilderness until the living generation died off. They would not live to see the promised land, except for Joshua and Caleb. That is not exactly what it says. Read these two verses and see if you identify the same escape clause that I see.

Numbers 14:22-23 (KJV) 22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; 23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

At first quick read it seems like a blanket condemnation, but look at the qualifiers. In verse 22 you have the conditional phrase, “and not hearkened” which leaves the door open for some to want to trust God. In the next verse you see the same pattern when the doom is limited to those the “provoked” Him.

I find hope in that. Often in life we are a small voice in a mighty wave of opinion. No one seems to hear us. We are striving against the tide but make no difference in the flood. Disaster awaits. I wonder how many times in the history of Israel that pattern was repeated. Remember the 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal. Think of the repeated use of the concept of the faithful remnant. My desire is that I would be in that pocket of grace that God seems to provide for the faithful.

So join the minority. Be faithful. God may have wrath ahead for our world if there is not revival but He will provide a way for us.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-190: On the Street: A Lesson in Civil Rights

As I was leaving the grocery store today I came to where I was going to cross the street and found a stream of cars approaching. Now I had a crosswalk and I had the right way but what I did was, I stepped back and stayed out of the way so that the cars would know I wasn’t going to cross and I allowed them to go on their way. When we had a break, I made my way across.

Between there and my car a lady stopped me and informed me that I had the right way and that I did not have to wait for those cars to go by. I conceded the point. I was aware of that. But in my mind it was a matter of courtesy. I am one retired, elderly man, as opposed to people that might have to get somewhere in a hurry, and it was only right for me to stand back and let them go. We exchanged some few thoughts, and then we went our way.

What I missed was another opportunity to witness of my faith. I could have very simply said something to the effect that when I waited for others to go by I just felt like Jesus smiled at me. Or I could have referred to Philippians chapter 2, where it talks about considering the other person is more important than yourself. Either way I missed an opportunity.

I am not laying awake nights suffering from guilt, but somewhere along the line I’m going to learn to take those opportunities.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-189: Wildflower Watch: Sparse Times

The drought continues even though we have had some rainfall.  I wait in hope that eventually we will see more blooms.

The rain we had brought out the rain lilies.  They come up white or yellow and age into purple.  They respond to recent moisture so they can appear any time of year.

Out in our rear area, which is usually a blanket of blue bonnets at this time, I noticed two Indian blankets.  They were not in the corner where they have flourished in years past but out in the open.

I am looking for trees coming up volunteer that I can nurture.  I have a mesquite tree that is looking good in its third year and I noticed another coming up above the house.  I still am looking for an oak that is more than a few feet from the established ones.

Spring is here and you can see it if you look in the right places.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-188: Election 2026: Dream On

Have you heard the fantasy about California electing a Republican governor?  I have not looked up the details but what I hear is the top two vote getters in the Democrat designed open primary are Republicans.  The enthusiasm came from thinking the top two vote getters in the primary would be the final candidates.

Dream on if it makes your day better.

I talked to someone living in California who seemed to be a bit more alert.  He said that as we get closer the Democrats will close ranks, tell certain candidates to drop out and whittle it down to be in the final.  To that I added that we also need to take into consideration that the Democrats will be counting the ballots.

Today I saw that the scenario is already playing out.  It seems that Eric Swalwell of Fang Fang fame is being forced out with accusations of sexual impropriety.  Although I have no trouble believing the accusations, the post I read made it sound like the kind of testimony that was gathered against Donald Trump.  It will be managed by the media in such a way to get rid of an unwanted candidate.

So the process of politics continues.  I will continue to vote and speak out, not because I think it will change things but because it is my responsibility.  I will leave the final results up to God.  Maybe we will see the finger writing on the wall again.

homo unius libri