The King of Pop

Everyone knows that Michael Jackson died yesterday. Today, the news is all about his life. This is a real indication of just how famous Michael Jackson became in his lifetime. I hear no one debating that. It is obvious. The debate that is raging, however, is whether he was famous and great, or famous and weird. This is quite understandable when you consider the significant accomplishments that rightfully earned him the title ‘The King of Pop’ on the one hand, and then on the other, the antics that earned him the title ‘Jacko the Waco’.

I’m not going to comment on the details of either really. I think they speak for themselves on both counts. He was a very gifted man and a very desperate one. I would like, however, to say that Michael Jackson becomes another striking example of the biblical truth that fame, money and power (success as defined by the world) do not bring true happiness. He joins a long list of people. Names like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley readily come to mind.

I turn fifty this year and have watched, albeit from a distance, Michael’s public life and career for the past 35 years or so. Yes, I remember the cartoon. Everyone is being asked about how they feel and how they would describe Michael and his life. The word that best describes how I feel, and what I think about his life, is the little word ‘sad’.

His great skill as a performer cannot be contested. In that sense he was truly great. And, he is also to be remembered as someone who did a lot to help a lot of people. He seemed to really care and he had a lot of people who cared very much about him. But, with everything that he had and was, he was obviously a very sad man who lived a very sad, and often desperate, type of life. Now he is gone and the profound emptiness that was observable in this man is almost haunting.

You can have it all, but if you don’t have the personal validation that brings a sense of wholeness and completeness to your spirit, then nothing else will ultimately matter. I only wish that the King of Pop could have met the King of Kings and found what he searched unsuccessfully for his entire life.

Sad

Hum Bugs

I remember the first time I saw a hummingbird. It was a pretty big deal. I was in either grade 2 or 3. It was a split class and I can’t remember which side of the classroom I was actually on, but I do remember the room on the lower floor of the north side of the Great Village Elementary school. There were large shrubs outside the big windows in the front (west) side of the school and they had grown up into the view of the windows and, suddenly, one day there he was in all his glory, shining in the sun. I remember all of us kids running off to the window to see this marvelous feat of engineering, one of God’s many wonders. Even the teacher got caught up in the moment as all control of the classroom was suddenly lost and captured by God’s handiwork on display as we stood in silence with wide eyes.

I don’t know whether I hadn’t really been observant enough to see them before that day, or if they have just gotten more plentiful in more recent years, but it sure seems like it was a much rarer thing to see a hummingbird when I was a kid than it is now. Isn’t it funny how we are so interested in the things that are rare and tend to overlook the wonder of the common place? Curious thing. Something I need to give more thought to. I mean, who get’s excited when they see a blue jay! And yet, they are pretty spectacular really. It’s like the old saying, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’.

Evolutionists say that similarities between different species (comparative anatomy) is evidence for evolution. This is typical. A personal bias leads to a certain conclusion without consideration for alternative explanations. Why wouldn’t similarities between different species be evidence for a common Creator? After all, every artist has his own style and considering natural principles of aerodynamics, etc, wouldn’t we expect to see design patterns?

Having said all of that, a few days ago, Florence and I were in the back yard when, suddenly, there he was, in all his glory, shining in the sun – something that neither one of us had ever seen before. He was almost the size of my thumb and at first I thought he was a tiny hummingbird. On closer examination though, it was evident he was more of an insect, maybe, sort of, with a body like a bee. But he flies just like a hummingbird and has a long protruding beak thing (‘proboscis’) for retrieving nectar just like a hummingbird.

I ran and got the camera and took his picture so here he is. Nice lilacs too eh! Of course, I went online right away and googled him. I discovered that he is not a ‘humbug’. Just a thought that was in the back of my mind. I found out that he is, in fact, a ‘hummingbird moth’.

I also found this video of the same guy if you want to see him fly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC-6Bpo7dhk

Just another of God’s amazing wonders. They seem to be almost endless. That’s because in spite of the many similarities in design pointing to a common Designer, the seemingly endless variations within God’s design work point to One who is infinite in his imaginative and creative power.

Steve

Indwelt

I doubt there is a truth in Christianity so outlandishly grand, so amazingly fantastic, so eliciting of wonder and awe, as the doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Christian. Just think about it! Spend the rest of your life thinking about it! Ponder its immense cosmic significance! And to think that you and I … It is almost too much isn’t it! I do know that it is really beyond me as a simple writer and speaker to convey it.

You know how every once in a while you stumble across something that you have never seen or read before and it’s like finding a gem on the path. I came across a poem today that I have never seen before and was immediately struck by it’s beauty, both in phrase and in truth. I would have to say it is one of the most beautiful poems I’ve ever seen or heard. I’ve decided to share it with you for that reason so here it is. According to the posting, she wrote it for her pastor. If so, it is an amazing tribute. I would only pray that God might make this true of each one of us who attempt to speak in His Name.


Indwelt

Not only by the words you say
Not only in your deeds confessed
But in the most unconscious way
Is Christ expressed.

Was it a beatific smile,
Or holy light upon your brow?
Oh no, I felt His presence when
You laughed just now.

For me, 'twas not the truth you taught,
To you so clear, to me so dim,
But when you came to me you brought
A sense of Him.

And from your eyes, He beckons me
And from your heart, His love is shed,
Till I lose sight of you
And see the Christ instead.

Beatrice Clelland