Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/markthall

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Where Were You?

One morning last week Lozanne and I were jarred awake about 5:00 A.M. by a rather obvious thump on the outside wall of our bedroom. Lozanne asked, “What was that…was that a bear”? Bears in our yard are not uncommon. Not really wanting to have to investigate, I suggested that it was nothing but one of those things that go thump in the night. Oddly, she accepted that explanation and dozed off. I don’t doze off so easily these days so I decided to get up and write a blog. As I looked out the living room window, I was a little surprised to see the return pipe from our swimming pool solar heater pouring on the ground rather than in the pool. I decided that maybe an investigation was indeed in order. I got dressed and went outside and immediately adjusted the pipe back into position wondering to myself what could have dislodged such a sturdy fixture. Later in the day, I noticed that our garden composter was in three pieces and spread over the ground at least ten feet from where it should have been. I realized then that we had been visited by one of our black bear friends. This must have been an angry one, because the composter has been empty for years as part of our bear proofing procedures. This bear had destroyed an empty composter and actually took a swipe at our pool infrastructure, not to mention hitting the side of our house. All of our garbage is kept in a locked truck container far from the house and the bird feeder is put away every spring. I guess our paucity of available food and the resulting lack of hospitality did not please our friend.

I knew it was probable that this bear has taken to going through our property from the forest behind in order to check out the delicacies of our neighbours gardens or garbage improperly stored. I knew from experience that it is likely he or she had a regular daily route. Running into this wild animal would not be a good idea. As long as a lone bear is not surprised by human beings they will usually run in the opposite direction when contact is made. A female bear with cubs is to be respected and avoided at all costs. Bears are an extremely powerful and fast creature weighing hundreds of pounds.

Lozanne and I go out each morning to exercise. She jogs and I walk the laneways of our property and our neighbour’s. We do it rain or shine, flies or no flies. This week we are doing it to the ringing of a antique school bell. As we move around the circuit, I ring the bell every once in a while just to let the bear know where we are. The bear avoids us and everyone is happy. Our dog Marley is also our early warning system. She will pick up the scent of an intruder long before we see it.

Yesterday as I walked and rang the bell, I was musing on God’s creation. Why did He create such a diverse and sometimes dangerous world? Why do we have pests such as insects and downright dangerous animals in our midst? God gave us dominion over these creatures, but they are here in this world with us. Why would he create these challenges for those he loved? Why did we have to be concerned about a large black bear as we exercised this morning?

The answer is in the Book of Job starting in Chapter 38. God is speaking to Job who has suffered terrible losses and has been asking “why” questions as well. For three full chapters, God informs Job of His answer. Job 38: 1-4 starts off a long monologue by God Himself.

1 ¶ Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
2 "Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
3 Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
4 ¶ "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

Whenever I find myself questioning God, which we all do from time to time, I read these three chapters. God very clearly goes through all of His creation including the animal world, from fierce to gentle.

I could sum up these three chapters in very few words. Why did God create such a diverse and sometimes dangerous world? He did it because he is God. He and He alone is sovereign. He is God and we are the creation. We may understand it better in heaven, but for now we know one simple thing. God is in control, always has been and always will be. Our lives unfold just as exactly as they should. Accepting that in the face of life’s minor or major difficulties makes all the difference in understanding it all.

(Comments, corrections, suggestions or rebuttals are welcome. My email link is contained in “About me: view my complete profile” to the right of this page or use the comment section below which requires that you have a Google account.)

No comments:

Post a Comment