God – sethlewis.ie

Eclipsing the Sun

We stepped out of our front door into a eerily early twilight, as the moon began to cover the sun. From where we stood, the eclipse reached 96% coverage, at its height. One of the things that impressed me most about the experience was not how dark it became, but how much light remained when only 4% of the sun was shining. Even that small sliver of crescent-sun lit the world up more brilliantly than a full moon. The moon might be the main attraction at night, but it can’t compete. I’ve seen it in the morning, almost imperceptible against the sun-washed sky, even though it was still shining just as brightly as ever. More technically, it was still reflecting just as brightly as ever. The reason the moon can never compete with the sun is because every bit of light it shines with is received from the sun in the first place. It does not generate any light of its own. It can only give out of what it has been given.

Words Like Rain (a poem)

Your words came
like rain
and the parched ground
they found
was my heart

Your words fell
like seeds
in the cracked soil
of me
and they sprouted

Your words grew
like saplings
unfurled
like flowers
and tasted like
heaven’s own
garden-fresh
produce
and nothing at all
is the same
since

Your words came

“You have the words of eternal life” – John 6:68

If God Meant Everybody, why did he say Neighbour?

In Leviticus 19:18, God commands his people to “love your neighbour as yourself”. Jesus called this the second greatest commandment, after loving God himself (Mark 12:28-31). When a religious leader asked him to clarify, “who is my neighbour?” Jesus used the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate that your “neighbour” could be anybody—even strangers, foreigners, and natural enemies.

This raises a question: if God meant for us to love everyone, why didn’t he say that in the first place? He could have commanded us to “love everyone as you love yourself”, which would seem clearer and more to the point. Doesn’t the word “neighbour” lend itself to definitions that are narrower than God intended? In fact, we have Biblical proof of just such a misunderstanding in Matthew 5:43, where Jesus refers to a saying that seems to have been popular at the time, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’” Jesus rejects this saying and turns it around, commanding us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 4:44-45). That’s a good correction, but couldn’t the confusion have been avoided if God had simply said “everybody” in the first place?

Three Books To Draw Your Heart To God This Summer

The days are longer, the weather is warmer, and it’s a perfect time to get outside and enjoy creation. This is also a great season to let your enjoyment draw your heart closer to the One who invented the sunshine, the growth, and everything else you see. Here are three books I’ve read and enjoyed recently that can help you focus your mind and heart on God this summer:

The Treasure Chest at the Train Station

One morning as my wife and I were waiting for a train at our local station, I cast my eyes over the familiar utilitarian scene with its phone-holding inhabitants and I noticed something I had never paid attention to before. On the far side of the tracks there was an unassuming yellow-plastic treasure chest. I could see a padlock on it, but the latch was in front of the lock, ready to open. On the front it had large, black letters openly declared its contents: “Grit Salt”. I realise that this may not sound like treasure to you, or interesting or surprising or exceptional at all—and that’s just the point.

The Ingredients of a Petal (a poem)

What is a petal,
and how would you make it?
What alchemic mixes
would help you create it?

The basic ingredients
everyone knows—some
soil and sunshine and
air—then it grows

But how?

The microscope cannot define
the grand and mysterious
secret of life

We see it
observe it
and live it ourselves
we plant it
and grow it
and store it on shelves

But where did it come from
and why does it bloom
with a spring resurrection
on winter’s old tomb?

A petal’s a beauty you
cannot invent—
a wonder, an omen,
an Artist’s intent

Searching for a Sign

“God, please give me a sign”, I said quietly, as I stepped outside.

I was in the middle of a confusing situation. I didn’t know what to do, or how. I couldn’t see how anything could work out well. I wanted to know that God was near, and involved. I wanted to see a display of his care, and power. I’m not sure what kind of sign I was looking for, exactly—a sudden bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky? A rainbow ending at my house? A rare bird landing on my shoulder?

Crumbs (a poem)

If you can take one seed
and grow a mighty tree
Lord, will the world see you,
if I am growing, too?

If you can use five loaves
to feed five thousand souls
I wonder what you’ll do
with the crumbs I offer you?

The Genius of Dirt

It’s everywhere. It sticks to your hands in the garden, and clings tightly to your shoes until the moment you step inside, where it promptly falls onto the just-cleaned floor. It stains the knees and elbows of children’s clothes, collects on the sides of cars, and turns into a sloppy mess in the rain. Dirt.

Does Heaven Move More Slowly?

The area we live in is booming. The fields are growing houses, and there are rivers of tail lights flooding the little roads that used to flow freely. As I sat in the car, waiting again, I thought about how the people who lived here in generations past used to get around. It was walking, mostly, at the pace of people or animals, and even with the traffic my car is faster than that. On the other hand, I know that walking is healthier, and also when I walk I often bump into people I know and we might have a friendly chat—which isn’t possible when we only glimpse each other through passing windscreens. All of this got me thinking about a question I’d never considered before: what kind of transportation will we use in Heaven?