I am always amazed whenever I looked up at the skies.
I am at a loss for words when I stare out at the heavens on a clear night
and see all those billions of stars and the occasional meteor streaking across the sky.
I am simply awed when I stand before a grand and majestic scene of nature,
be it the wide expanse of the open seas,
the grand vista of the mountains,
the soothing calm of a colorful sunset,
or the wild explosion of colors in a spring meadow.
Sure, I don’t need to be a believer to see and appreciate all that beauty and grandeur.
But my faith does give me a deeper appreciation of it all.
Knowing who created all that beauty and grandeur
and knowing why he did it fills my heart
with deep feelings of gratitude, wonder, humility, hope, joy and love
for myself, for the world and for all the others I share this world with.
There is a lot of beauty and order in my life and in the world
for me to be happy and thankful for:
in nature, in my relationships with friends and family,
in the efforts of people and nations to become better.
But this beauty and order is often blemished by imperfections, failures and disasters such as brought about by human frailty, selfishness, greed, fear, anger and hate.
During such times, I wonder if there is any future for us men.
We seem to be doomed to fail.
I remembered always being challenged to think out of the box
when faced with challenged and difficulties
I can see now that the Christian message is about thinking
(as well as believing and doing) outside of the box.
Christ did not do away pain and suffering.
He showed us that the failures and imperfections in our lives are necessary ingredients to out journey towards salvation and perfection.