Ticktock
By Scott Harrup | June 11, 2010
I wear cheap watches. The watch I’ve strapped on today is so cheap that the manufacturer does not wish to be identified. But there are plenty of bold announcements stenciled across its durable plastic surfaces to reassure me my investment is not in vain.
It is a SPORT model, it proclaims across the top of the dial. It is WATER RESISTANT, it insists, twice, on the upper strap and at the bottom of the dial. It is a SPORT CHRONOGRAPH it avers on the lower strap. And it is not entirely plastic, I discover as I turn it over — STAINLESS STEEL CASE BACK WATER RESIST 165FT/5ATM CHINA.
Continuing to study the case back, I learn I will need BATTERY E-CR2016 whenever the power supply wanes sufficiently to fade the digital display. But I know better. It would almost certainly cost more to buy an E-CR2016 and pay some “jewelry associate” to install it than it would to simply buy another watch.
I lost the directions to this choice timepiece not long after I slapped down major pocket change for it at a local superdupercenter. When daylight saving time shifts or I need to shut off the ALARM that somehow manages to turn itself on, I’m madly squeezing various combinations of buttons until the correct setting option appears. Currently, the alarm is off; I am grateful but cautious.
As much as I hate to admit it, my watch reminds me of myself at times. It’s possible to wear my life labels in bright, bold letters while just barely backing them up — LOVING HUSBAND AND FATHER, DEDICATED EMPLOYEE, FAITHFUL SON, TRUE FRIEND, or even CHRISTIAN.
It would be one thing if only pocket change had been invested in me. Everyone would be getting their money’s worth, so to speak. But family and friends have poured themselves richly into my life. And the cost of my Christian identity? The death of God’s Son.
I’ll continue to get by just fine with my plastic watch. It’ll probably be another two or three years before the battery dies and I look for a cheap successor. But I hope my life proves to be a Baume & Mercier, Cartier or Rolex.
Topics: Bizarre | No Comments »
Straws
By Scott Harrup | June 4, 2010
You’ve heard the expression, “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” According to one online encyclopedia, some Bactrian camels can transport 1,000 pounds. Other sites list 300 to 400 pounds as a more reasonable long-distance burden for camels. Even that lighter load represents two average-to-large adults. A healthy camel should be able to carry that load about 30 miles in a day.
A straw might weigh a fraction of an ounce, but if that fraction is added to a maximum existing load, collapse is inevitable. As a similar illustration, I think of the giant hydraulic presses used to test concrete columns, steel trusses and other building components. Pressure gradually increases, until one additional ounce causes the test sample to crumble or bend. World-class weightlifters can snatch hundreds of pounds over their heads until the addition of one tiny plate seems to glue the barbell to the ground.
The “straw” idiom illustrates how seemingly insignificant events can wreak havoc in combination with existing circumstances. We can all identify “straws” in our lives.
Some bring a chuckle or a good-natured huff of exasperation. We enjoy a favorite meal, but that one bite nudges us past merely full to painfully bloated. We read an intriguing book before bed and stay up just a little too late. We refill our morning coffee to the point of not-just-awake-but-awake-and-jittery.
Far more of life’s straws push us toward discouragement. We struggle with a tight budget, and our car breaks down or our child needs a medical procedure. We do our best on the job, and receive that one assignment that overwhelms us. We encounter minor relationship challenges on several fronts to be compounded with just one more argument with a friend, spouse or child.
Enough, already! I didn’t need this! we mentally shout out to the world, or desperately pray to God.
Straws.
If you’re like me, you’ve discovered that desperate prayers are always more effective than anxious thoughts of surrender. Consider these promises from your Heavenly Father the next time a straw lands on your already unbearable load.
“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah” (Psalm 68:19, NIV).
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts” (Psalm 103:13-18).
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
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Lost
By Scott Harrup | May 26, 2010
After six years, Lost has wrapped, and millions of fans around the world must do without its groundbreaking blend of sci-fi, mystery, action, drama, philosophy and… yes… religion.
The deeply spiritual nature of the show caught my attention when Rose prayed with Charlie in the first season. In Season 2, there was Eko’s brother Yemi, a Catholic priest who kept trying to point Eko toward redemption. The supposed tension between faith and science/reason repeatedly came to the fore in dialogues between Jack and Locke.
With some regularity, our family followed the increasingly convoluted story lines of Oceanic 815’s surviving passengers and the various “Others” encountered on and off the island. None of us would last long in a trivia contest, but we stuck with enough episodes to navigate the finale.
I’ve been reflecting on those last scenes. Most of the main characters show up in a church that is revealed to be some sort of mental construct they have built together to help themselves move on into the hereafter. It turns out they’re all dead, and it’s time to finally admit their mortality, “let go” and, literally, walk into the light.
From where I sat, it was pretty clear the show’s takeaway was universalist. A stained-glass window in those final minutes displayed symbols from a number of religions. The main characters, regardless of their faith or even lack of faith, were all headed into some undefined state of apparently eternal bliss.
So what else would I expect from a secular network series? Did I really think it was possible to offer a Christian worldview?
Well, not exactly. Certainly not in a Passion of the Christ sense. But enough of the series had been tied to Christian symbols and biblical allusions to allow for a general Judeo-Christian frame of reference at the end. The ending could also have been stronger if the different storylines, including said symbols and allusions, had been resolved more firmly within a sci-fi rather than a metaphysical framework. Why on earth did they have to shift from an electromagnetic burst on the island to an undefined pool of light anyway?
The show was far too large a canvas to finish painting to everyone’s satisfaction, I admit. And I find some positive takeaways from the denouement that the producers delivered. If I’m uncomfortable with a universalist worldview, then I should redouble my commitment to living out my faith in Christ. If I’m concerned that my kids will be hoodwinked into accepting all religions as equal, then I had better be the kind of husband and dad who attracts them into a personal relationship with Jesus.
Because, in the end, unless each of us connects with the One who clearly stated He is “the way and the truth and the life,” we’re lost in the truest sense of the word.
Topics: Books and Films, Bible | 2 Comments »
Virus Alert
By Scott Harrup | May 22, 2010
Earlier this week on my way to work, I heard a news item on NPR about a vaccine for the Ebola virus. The report was optimistic, explaining that the vaccine appeared to be effective even against a new strain of the disease.
That sounded good to me. I don’t think I’m at any great risk of catching Ebola, but anytime I hear of a medical breakthrough my first reaction is, “Hey, that’s great in case I ever catch that.”
Jodie has been wishing for a medical breakthrough for the current strain of 24-hour flu floating around Springfield. She apparently picked up the bug from a preschooler she was teaching on Thursday. It’s been touch and go digestively the past couple of days. (Although, I just called home from the library where I’m working on a project today, and she’s pretty sure she can tolerate some carryout cashew chicken.)
As I’m staring at my computer screen, I also think of the ever-growing array of computer viruses aimed at stealing my data and turning my hard drive into a useless mass of microcircuitry.
The thing about viruses is, they’re amazingly small to be able to do such damage. The virtual variety can be just a few lines of computer code and can wreak havoc on gigabytes of data. Natural viruses are also quite tiny, some being small enough to infect individual bacteria. A typical Ebola virus is a string of about 288 amino acids, and you could line up 1,000 of the critters end to end within a single millimeter.
Tiny things that can do tons of damage—that also applies to a thoughtless word, a quick nod toward a temptation, a moment of unrestrained anger.
In the realm of moral “viruses,” I continue to discover new and effective vaccines in prayer, God’s Word, and the encouragement of fellow Christ followers. I hope your medicine cabinet is full as well.
Topics: Bizarre, Bible, News | No Comments »
Pomp and Circumstances
By Scott Harrup | May 17, 2010
When Lindsay walked the line and accepted her high school diploma yesterday, I joined millions of parents this year who marked similar milestones in their children’s early adulthood.
OK, all you fellow travelers out there, a collective pause and sigh of relief… whew…
Funny thing about key moments in life — they herald new beginnings as much as they take note of significant closures. Lindsay grasped a diploma representing four years of classes, homework assignments, tests and special projects. In just over three months, she plans to begin another four-year journey with similar but augmented challenges.
It felt providential that Lindsay graduated in the very chapel where she will soon be attending services during college. New Covenant Academy held the ceremony at Evangel University here in Springfield. Jodie and I are thrilled our daughter can attend the wonderful school where we met during the Dark Ages of the later 20th century.
I spent the last few months mentally humming “Pomp and Circumstance” as the big day approached. When I think about the title of that traditional march, I contemplate Lindsay’s future. You might say it’s a mix of pomp and circumstances.
On the “pomp” side, I’m reminded of the immeasurable value God sees in Lindsay, and the eternal significance He attaches to her journey through life. Even the moments appearing in my view as mundane look like a wedding march to the Lord. After all, Lindsay is a part of the Bride of Christ. No matter how deeply Jodie and I love our daughter and pay tribute to her rites of passage, God outstrips our love and devotion beyond measure as He nurtures Lindsay’s life.
But there are also “circumstances.”
I once heard Rick Warren share that he used to view life as a series of alternating blessings and trials. Now, Warren noted, he sees life as a set of railroad tracks. One rail is blessing, the other, trials. They coexist.
So, as Lindsay continues her life journey, she is sure to come face-to-face with heartache and fatigue and unanswered questions even while she enjoys the Holy Spirit’s daily guidance and peace-giving presence and all the other benefits attending a young follower of Christ.
On that journey, I’ll prayerfully observe and will offer whatever help and encouragement I can. But, as yesterday so richly demonstrated, our little girl has moved farther down her own divinely guided path than her mother and I can follow.
And that’s not a bad thing.
Topics: Family Life | 1 Comment »
Air Guns
By Scott Harrup | May 13, 2010
If you’ve ever owned a BB gun, you’ve probably heard some version of the infamous warning, “You’ll shoot your eye out.”
My first BB gun, a lever-action Daisy, came into my possession for Christmas in 1971. For several days I plinked at cans and other random targets on our West African mission compound. Then I aimed it at a tree trunk with the muzzle about a foot away from the bark.
Poof… The little golden ball immediately ricocheted off the tree and smacked me squarely between the eyes—a most fortuitous near miss.
These days, I’m evaluating air guns in search of Austin’s first “real” gun. He’s been shooting plastic BBs with an air soft pistol since last year. He seems ready to take on the responsibility of metal-spitting pneumatic weaponry. I told him I’d augment the allowance he has saved and we’d look for an air rifle to shoot once school is out.
As I searched online for reviews of different BB and pellet rifles, I was astounded to discover the upper limits of air gun technology. My first clue was a news item alerting hunters in Missouri to the option of killing deer with air guns. Then I found a Missouri gun maker who has a backlog of orders for high-powered, big game air rifles.
I didn’t think you could shoot anything larger than a squirrel with an air gun. But there are numerous photo journals online of hunters on safari in Africa and in the wilderness of North America bagging huge antelope, wild boars, a black bear and even an American bison.
On a side note, as a Sherlock Holmes fan, I was skeptical of a reference to a lethal air rifle in “The Empty House.” But, apparently, Arthur Conan Doyle knew of the air gun’s long history. Believe it or not, Lewis and Clark included an air rifle on their famous expedition. Historians now believe it was a Girandoni, a rifle designed by a Tyrolean clockmaker of the same name. It could shoot some 20 rounds before the air reservoir in the stock required a laborious several hundred pumps to recharge. That kind of firepower was unheard of in the single-shot, muzzle-loading 1700s. Emperor Joseph II ordered 1,500 Girandonis for the Austrian army.
The more I researched these uber-air guns, the more I envisioned holding the walnut stock of a custom-built .40 or .50 caliber model. Austin and I could target practice together, I reasoned. Then I came to my senses. While his BBs or .177 pellets might be safely fired across our backyard, the rifles I was drooling over would send a slug through several adjoining backyard fences and perhaps any neighbors wandering into my line of fire (“line of air” is more precise, but doesn’t carry the same lethal connotations). So Austin and I will most likely be sharing whatever rifle we purchase for him.
My neighbors would probably thank me. And, when you stop and think about it, “sharing” isn’t a bad concept to include in a father/son activity.
Topics: Bizarre, History, Family Life | No Comments »
Home Turf Advantage
By Scott Harrup | April 28, 2010
The other night I watched a pseudo documentary that tried to determine the victor if an Apache warrior ever met up with a Roman gladiator. Talk about random. The hour offered insights into Apache and Roman fighting tactics and the key weapons used by each combatant. When the collected data was fed through some computer software, the Apache was predicted to win about two-thirds of 1,000 simulated battles.
I’m no expert on Apache warriors or Roman gladiators, but I think I identified a glaring inconsistency in the show. The setting for this virtual battle looked like a postcard from the American wilderness.
Of course the Apache won, I thought. The fight would probably have gone the other way in a coliseum.
My brain kept running down a rabbit trail, and I wondered if the environment might also influence the outcome of a spiritual conflict.
When you read Ephesians 6:11-18, you see the Christian life expressed as a battle against satanic forces and utilizing such weapons as the shield of faith, helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit. The implication is clear — God has given us the resources to live victoriously for Him.
But too often, I think, followers of Christ wander into environments where they can lose the advantage. I’m not talking about obediently sharing the gospel in dark places where people desperately need to hear it. That’s a given in the Great Commission. Rather, I’m talking about those personal choices we can make that can weaken our ability to live holy lives.
Where do we wander when we visit a local bookstore? What kind of channel surfing or Internet browsing vies for our attention? Are there parties or other social events we attend that weaken our resolve to live for Christ? I offer general examples, because I believe each of us needs to prayerfully work out the specifics.
One encouraging truth: Where the cast of that television episode could only estimate a character’s chances of victory, God’s Word assures the victory to all followers of Christ. The battles are tough, we do get wounded, but the eventual eternal outcome is guaranteed.
Topics: History, Bible | 1 Comment »
A Very Sad Happy Book
By Scott Harrup | April 24, 2010
I’ve been reading Lamentations lately during my personal devotions. Not for any complicated reason. I finished Jeremiah, and Lamentations is the next book in the Old Testament.
This famous dirge voices Jeremiah’s anguish at the fall of Jerusalem to the armies of Babylon. The city’s demise heralds the end of the Kingdom of Judah. It’s compelling reading, achingly beautiful. It caps off a lot of history shared in great detail in the preceding book (the Book of Jeremiah is the longest narrative book in the Bible). Throughout the reigns of several ungodly kings, Jeremiah watched in horror as divine judgment loomed. Lamentations gives a wailing announcement of that judgment’s arrival.
Lamentations has me asking myself what role godly sorrow should play in my life. I think our natural inclination is to avoid sorrow at all costs. But there has to be a role for sorrow to play in every life, or there wouldn’t be a need for a book like Lamentations. My current takeaway falls under a couple of points.
1: I need to be genuinely sorrowful for sin, all sin, mine and anyone else’s. Jeremiah clearly connects Judah and Jerusalem’s fall with generations of spiritual rebellion. Sin is at the root of his people’s destruction, and it breaks his heart.
2: In responding to the sin around me, my attitude must be that of a fellow traveler. Jeremiah never comes across as preaching down to anyone. Like the other scriptural prophets, he’s always honest. He’s God’s spokesman, so he can’t pull punches when it comes to confronting evil or warning of judgment. But he’s never arrogant. He’s no holier-than-thou hypocrite.
Interestingly, years after Jeremiah passed off the scene, the prophet Daniel read his writings and responded the same way—sorrowfully acknowledging his nation’s sin and his own sinful nature, and praying fervently for God’s renewed favor.
And renewed favor is a powerful message in much of the Bible. Lamentations is no exception.
“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (3:19-26, NIV).
That’s a shot in the arm, even in the middle of a list of catastrophes.
Topics: Bible | 1 Comment »
Unschool
By Scott Harrup | April 20, 2010
I wasn’t looking for another “Un-title,” but Jodie DVRd a segment from Good Morning America yesterday and played it for me last night after I got home from work.
“Unschool” is, believe it or not, a perfectly legal way to “educate” your child in a number of states. Once parents register with the state, they can follow an “unschooling” program at home without their kids facing truancy charges.
What is unschool? If the GMA report I watched is any indication, it’s no school at all. The parents who gave the primary interviews were explaining, with inexplicably straight faces, that their children could thrive educationally by receiving no structured education whatsoever. Their children were trusted to figure out what they needed to learn in life, and then were expected to teach themselves that knowledge.
I did find an interesting online essay that took issue with the GMA report. You can read it here. And I agree with that writer that video editing can easily mangle the truth.
But, the fact remains, parenting is all about structure. Having recently worked on our Mother’s Day and Father’s Day issues of the Evangel, I’ve been reminded just how intensely and intentionally godly moms and dads must invest of themselves in their children. Educational anarchy is about as far removed from a biblical parenting paradigm as you can get.
Is there such a thing as too much rigidity in educating a child? Of course there is. Just reread some Dickens for a host of examples. If the unschoolers have one thing right, it is the value of nurturing children’s curiosity and responding positively to their discoveries. But a child’s discoveries will multiply and take on added value when guided by the life experience of a loving adult mentor.
Unschooling, when carried to its fullest expression, amounts to unparenting.
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Ununseptium
By Scott Harrup | April 9, 2010
“Ununseptium” — the temporary name for the latest heavy element to be discovered — has been making an appearance in international headlines this week.
In January a team of Russian and American scientists published results of experiments conducted over the past year at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in Dubna, Russia. The team smashed together isotopes of calcium and berkelium in a particle accelerator to produce six atoms of element 117.
Ununseptium will serve as a placeholder name until the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) decides on a final name. The discovery team will most likely suggest the chosen name, but perhaps you have a relative, favorite pet or life-shaping motto you’d like to see immortalized … unclebobium? fidoium? goldenrulium? (The IUPAC guidelines do stipulate the name has to end in “ium.”)
I’ve been pondering ununseptium’s potential market value. Gold is currently hovering around $1,100 an ounce. At about 28 grams to the ounce, with about 3,000 billion billion atoms of gold per gram, that’s way more atoms than I can wrap my head around for a paltry $1,100. Did it cost millions to produce just six elusive atoms of ununseptium?
Mental gymnastics aside, consider this — you personally, right now, have immeasurable value as a prized eternal creation of your Heavenly Father. And equally priceless people surround you in your circle of relationships.
Science may eventually rename and mass produce ununseptium and discover beneficial applications for the element. But you and I already have the privilege of loving and serving each other, the most valuable creations in the universe.
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