I have a twelve-year-old son who is (in part, anyway) named after Billy Graham. Now I don't know that I agree with every aspect of BG's theology and ministry, but he's always been a person of integrity. In the late-mid 20th century he could have had "it all." He was popular, telegenic, well connected and articulate. If he wanted to make lots and lots of money, and make himself the story, well, that would have been an easy thing to do. But he didn't. The gospel of Jesus, and not the celebrity of Billy, was his commitment. The cover story in the latest Newsweek makes it clear that Graham has as little time for the politics of the Christian right (or left, for that matter) as he did for his own celebrity. I can't think of a better of example of godliness, Christ-like humility, and lovingkindness than one finds in this profile:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14204483/
God bless you, Billy.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Late Night Anxiety
I make no assumptions about having readers. And had I had any a few weeks back when I began this blog, I've surely run them off by my inactivity. Oh well, the past is what it is.
Still, I find myself wondering if anyone else has been finding him-or-herself rather full of anxiety these days. I suspect that separation anxiety is one of the causes of my unease. My oldest daughter recently spent three weeks in Europe, traveling and seeing friends from high school and from her freshman year of college (she'll be a sophomore this year). Although she is now home safe and sound (and with a rather large digital card full of wonderful pictures), I'll admit to feeling a bit nervous with her an ocean away. Then this whole war in the Middle East has sort of freaked me out. I just don't see where it will end. You've got a strong militaristic state (Israel) who justly feels persecuted by other states in the region, and fanatical Islamic groups (and in the case of Iran, nations) who want to wipe said state from the face of the earth. Caught in between is the United States (and her nominal allies), Russia, and moderate Arab states. Oh yeah, and most of the world's supply of oil. It doesn't take too much pessimissm to see the beginings of WWIII in this picture. And even if we manage to avoid that, there are God-knows-how-many nuclear warheads that were once assigned to countries that are now in the former Soviet Union and that may or may not be accounted for, and hence may or may not be available to various terrorist groups who would love nothing more than to make 9/11 seem like small potatoes.
Oh, and have I mentioned global warming? Despite the reaction of those who reactively reject any claim by the American left, there seems to be good scientific evidence that this is indeed happening, and that we have no good idea where it will all lead.
Two mornings ago, I thought about all of these things between 4:00 and 4:30 am. And while I kept reminding myself that the God who brought the universe into existence by the mere fiat of his will, and who counts the falling of each sparrow--that this God is finally in control of whatever mess of things us humans make, still I couldn't help shake the thought that God would still let us suffer the consequences of our foolishness, even if in the end such consequences are only temporary. God is just and yet gracious. God help us.
So I'm wondering if anyone who might read this has the same problem: do you wake up in the middle of the night, feel the weight of the world, and worry that your kids will end up paying for the foolishness of our generation (after all, it's not our kids' faults that we've wasted natural resources, neglected signs of global warming, worried more about our income than about the poor, and elected George W. Bush (twice!) as President)?
Still, I find myself wondering if anyone else has been finding him-or-herself rather full of anxiety these days. I suspect that separation anxiety is one of the causes of my unease. My oldest daughter recently spent three weeks in Europe, traveling and seeing friends from high school and from her freshman year of college (she'll be a sophomore this year). Although she is now home safe and sound (and with a rather large digital card full of wonderful pictures), I'll admit to feeling a bit nervous with her an ocean away. Then this whole war in the Middle East has sort of freaked me out. I just don't see where it will end. You've got a strong militaristic state (Israel) who justly feels persecuted by other states in the region, and fanatical Islamic groups (and in the case of Iran, nations) who want to wipe said state from the face of the earth. Caught in between is the United States (and her nominal allies), Russia, and moderate Arab states. Oh yeah, and most of the world's supply of oil. It doesn't take too much pessimissm to see the beginings of WWIII in this picture. And even if we manage to avoid that, there are God-knows-how-many nuclear warheads that were once assigned to countries that are now in the former Soviet Union and that may or may not be accounted for, and hence may or may not be available to various terrorist groups who would love nothing more than to make 9/11 seem like small potatoes.
Oh, and have I mentioned global warming? Despite the reaction of those who reactively reject any claim by the American left, there seems to be good scientific evidence that this is indeed happening, and that we have no good idea where it will all lead.
Two mornings ago, I thought about all of these things between 4:00 and 4:30 am. And while I kept reminding myself that the God who brought the universe into existence by the mere fiat of his will, and who counts the falling of each sparrow--that this God is finally in control of whatever mess of things us humans make, still I couldn't help shake the thought that God would still let us suffer the consequences of our foolishness, even if in the end such consequences are only temporary. God is just and yet gracious. God help us.
So I'm wondering if anyone who might read this has the same problem: do you wake up in the middle of the night, feel the weight of the world, and worry that your kids will end up paying for the foolishness of our generation (after all, it's not our kids' faults that we've wasted natural resources, neglected signs of global warming, worried more about our income than about the poor, and elected George W. Bush (twice!) as President)?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)