In my weekly Works & Wonders article, I combine a brief devotional with other interesting and uplifting bits and pieces I gleaned throughout the week. These can be stories, poems, songs, articles, quotes, and just about anything else I found especially enjoyable in the week that was or that I am especially looking forward to in the week to come.
Today:
- A Lord’s Day Devotional
- 10 Great Innovations That Were Discovered By Mistake
- Symmetry
- A Model of NYC
- Wild About Beetles
- “Christ For Every Nation”
- Dying Men No More To Die
1.
Devotional: The Shoreline of Wonder
If you wished to search for driftwood or seashells or sea glass, you would do well to visit the coast at the point where the beaches are longest, for the longer the shoreline, the greater the likelihood of finding what you seek. And in Ralph Sockman’s metaphor, the likelihood of finding delight in God is directly proportional to our knowledge of God: “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.” If we know little about God, there is little to spark awe within us. But if we know much about God, we will inevitably find much that causes us to marvel at who he is. This puts on each of us the responsibility to know God as he is, to study what he has revealed of himself through nature—where “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1) —and what he has revealed of himself through the Bible—where we learn that “the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart” (Psalm 19:8). To know God is to delight in God, and to know God more is to delight in God more, for the scope of our wonder depends upon the span of our knowledge.
2.
10 Great Innovations That Were Discovered By Mistake
How ingenious are human beings? Ingenious enough that sometimes they discover great things by mistake—or when trying to solve other problems. This article in the Wall Street Journal highlights 10 American inventions that all came about by mistake. It includes some you probably already know about, like Post-it Notes and Cornflakes, but others that you may not have guessed, like Scotchguard and Saccharin.
3.
Symmetry
I have always been drawn to symmetry in photography. To get this symmetrical shot, I had to lie on the floor in a hotel lobby in Recife, Brazil, and wait for the elevators to roughly align. I probably looked a bit crazy, but I think it was worth it.
4.
A Model of NYC
I saw a number of stories this week about a new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. Joe Macken, a truck driver, spent 20 years building a detailed miniature model of New York City. He used the simplest of materials: balsa wood, cardboard, Elmer’s glue, and an X-Acto knife. But with only this, he created a remarkable piece of folk art. His daughter convinced him to begin sharing scenes from it on social media, and it took off from there. Most of us can’t get to the Museum of the City of New York, but we can at least enjoy the photographs of it at sites like Artnet: A Truck Driver Spent 20 Years Building a Miniature Model of New York City. Then, It Went Viral.
5.
Wild about Beetles
It is good to enjoy God’s creation, and perhaps especially those creatures that we are prone to overlook. In this case, Margaret Helder celebrates the humble beetle, which God created in huge numbers (upwards of 20,000 species) and with an incredible variety in shape, form, and function.
Ladybugs and indeed all beetles, are wonderful examples of the richness and variety we see in nature. Beetles are quite plain in their basic organization. The amazing diversity in appearance as well as in lifestyle, tells us something about the Creator. God loves variety and He loves beauty! The fancy elaborations on the beetle theme in terms of talents and appearance, can only serve to increase our interest in the creation. Could the various ecosystems survive with plainer looking beetles? No doubt. But isn’t it fun to be able to observe and enjoy beetles in all their vast variety?
6.
Christ To Every Nation
I have really been enjoying the band Stillcreek. This new song, which they co-wrote with Trevin Wax, is another great addition to their collection. You can read Trevin’s explanation of the song at his blog. Here’s the opening verse:
O how beautiful the feet
of the ones who bring good news
that the Son of God has come
full of grace and truth.At the cross, He bore our sin
then He overcame the grave.
Now His resurrection life
reaches far to save.
7.
Dying Men No More To Die
Christians have a complicated relationship with death. While we deplore death’s existence and long for its demise, we also know that death is the only way, apart from Christ’s return, that we will be relieved from all the troubles and sorrows of this world. De Witt Talmage captures some of that positive aspect of death in this excerpt from one of his sermons:
I saw a beautiful being wandering up and down the earth. She touched the aged, and they became young. She touched the poor, and they became rich. I said, “Who is this beautiful being, wandering up and down the earth?” They told me that her name was Death. What a strange thrill of joy when the palsied Christian begins to use his arm again! When the blind Christian begins to see again! When the deaf Christian begins to hear again! When the poor pilgrim puts his feet on such pavement, and joins in such company, and has a free seat in such a great temple! Hungry men no more to hunger; thirsty men no more to thirst; weeping men no more to weep; dying men no more to die.
