Each morning as soon as my feet hit the floor, I have to make the decision of what I am going to do with my mind that day. I usually know where I am going and what I will be doing on any given day of the week. Where I go and what I do will be visible and shared with others. But my cave I share with no one; for only the real me lives there. Visitors are by invitation only; they are rare, and usually unwanted. My cave is filled with computer cookies; a lot of what I process is important, but not all. Much of the time in my cave is spent on things I wonder about. Some of the things I wonder about may seem like downright foolishness or pretty close to it. Still, important matters are pondered and wondered about. So here we go; come on in.
THINGS I WONDER ABOUT
Why are there so many mother-in-law jokes? I wonder why I have never heard any father-in-law or aunt-and-uncle jokes.
The speed of light is well documented; I wonder what the speed of dark is.
Scientists tell us that the earth rotates around the sun; it seems to me that earth is standing still. I wonder if they're telling us the truth.
THE OUTHOUSE
Up until I was 12 years old, except for the kitchen sink, there was no indoor plumbing in our house. The next best thing to indoor plumbing is a top-of-the-line outhouse with two seats. For my Dad, it was "nothing's too good for this family." It stood about 30 or 40 yards from the house, and from the road it looked pretty good, but up close was another story. Being raised with nine older brothers and sisters, I wonder why I never saw two of them in there at the same time.
CREATION
Creation conceals more about God than it reveals about God. God reveals enough to know that the universe came into being through intelligent design. (Prov. 3:19-20) I wonder where space ends. Does it end? If so, is there a brick wall around space? I wonder what is on the other side of the wall.
CRIMINAL ON THE CROSS (Luke 23:39-43)
Jesus was crucified between two criminals. One of them confessed that he deserved the punishment he got for the crimes he committed. He also understood that Jesus was punished unjustly for the crimes of someone else. He then did something amazing. This criminal asked Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom.
I wonder who his victims were? Were the families still suffering for the crimes committed by this man? What would they think about this, or does it matter? He was not asking for mercy; not suffering the penalty for his crimes is mercy. For him to receive mercy, he would have been taken down from his cross even though his crime remained. Mercy does not take away guilt. In the only way he knew, he was asking for grace. If a person is saved by faith alone, in Christ alone, through grace alone, would this include the criminal on the cross? When Jesus said to the lawbreaker, "today you will be with me in paradise," points only to faith alone, Christ alone, grace alone. So we should not be shocked that he was accepted.
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Here is a man who never worked a day in his life for the cause of Christ. He never gave a dime to the work of Christ, he never took communion, he never practiced the Sermon on the Mount, and he was not even baptized.
Was Jesus' final act of grace intended to tie up any doubts or misunderstandings of the grace of God? Would grace extended to this criminal be enough to stop future add ons? There are those who would denounce grace alone as unjust. Still for others, grace alone is not socially acceptable; to them, there are some things that must accompany it to make it more appealing and believable.
Ephesians 1:6-7, "To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved Son. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."
Ps. 115:3, "Our God is in heaven, He does whatever pleases Him."
