 |
| Exotic garage in Monaco - summer of 1994 |
 |
| My friend Bryan admiring a Ferrari 456GT. The most beautiful GT car I've ever seen. |
One of the most magnificent experiences I've lived through was teaching my 3 daughters to both swim and ride bicycles (albeit not at the same time). As children, our brains are malleable. Comprehending complex yet natural skills therefore happen with aplomb. And I would argue this is especially the case when trust is involved between parent and child / teacher and pupil. It is a tremendous experience to behold as it pays homage to how expertly children are knitted together by God.
Jesus cited having faith "like a child" within Scripture. I've always equated this to simplistic, almost dumbed-down thinking, but not anymore. Instead, I now see it as a comprehensive understanding that's under girded by an innate sense of order / hierarchy, none of which is lost on children due to how hyper-absorbent / malleable their young minds truly are.
-------------------------
When I was either a sophomore or junior in high school (I believe I was a junior), I ended up within a study hall class due to me needing to stay 'till the end of the school day for band (6th period). That study hall met in the high school library. It amounted to 50 minutes of free time for Rob every day right after lunch. I recall everyone having to sit at round tables in complete silence, therefore as you can imagine boredom set in quickly.
One day, a Motor Trend magazine caught my eye on the magazine stand.
Never had I read anything (that I recall) on automobiles, therefore I was ignorant through and through other than what little marketing I'd been exposed to on TV. Surprisingly, something clicked within my brain upon me reading of this massively complex free enterprise narrative / industry, and from there, I found that I simply couldn't put Motor Trend down 'till I'd read and re-read every page. Therefore, I would wait expectantly each month for the next issue to appear on the magazine stand, and usually within just a few days, I'd have consumed the entire publication. The subject itself was fascinating to me. I'd no idea what amounted to the industry of automobiles 'till it was presented to me within this periodical.
In summary, thanks to that required high school study hall, Rob quickly became a lifelong automobile aficionado.
And most importantly, what I found internally, was the avalanche of comprehensive knowledge I was gaining was illuminating in real time my understanding of the automotive landscape newly set before me. It truly was an experience akin to peeking behind the curtain in order to fully understand who / what was in control of the great Oz. And this was something I'd neither any ability nor interest to do prior to stumbling upon Motor Trend as a teenage boy.
I cannot underestimate to you, dear reader, how impactful this was to me as an individual. I even ended up selling cars at Howard Wilson Chrysler / Plymouth in Jackson during the summer of 1991 (in between my freshman and sophomore year in college)! It was such fun. Plus, I made a lot of $$$ (#1 salesman for both June and July).
-------------------------
Faith is a gift of God's to man. It's different from trust in that trust is built on unspoken rules established between two (or more) individuals. Faith is not like that at all. Instead, it's more like an awakening or enlightenment pertaining to something too massive / complex, and to do it justice takes firstly an understanding that no real human expert on faith has existed except God's son, Jesus, who is our king / high priest.
But like the intrinsic knowledge of what an automobile manufacturer's chassis or platform may be, in terms of its purpose / design within the grand narrative of automobiledom, our childlike faith provides a rudimentary, highly conceptual understanding of the language / colors / narrative behind God's sovereignty here on Earth. That's the best way I know to describe it.
Of course, reading God's word promulgates what I would argue could be described as an adult-like faith. No doubt that's why the entire Old Testament, in particular, exists for us. 39 books to read and re-read.
May our eyes be opened more and more as our faith allows us to comprehend in proportion to our Heavenly Father's commitment and love for us.
And if faith hasn't clicked for you today, I pray that it soon will. It changes everything for the better.
 |
| Winter Sunset - Rural Yazoo county, MS |
 |
| Autumn sunset - Destin, FL |
No comments:
Post a Comment