Burdens of Believing in God

My boyhood impression of God was very positive.  I learned about Him from my parents and other adults; and from the Bible.  Jesus seemed like a kind man with gentle, assuring words like, “I am the Good Shepherd (John 10: 11).  However, as I grew older, I began to view God’s commandments as burdens that restricted my freedom.  I was particularly wary of Jesus’s stern principle:  If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me (Luke 9: 23).  Was Jesus my Friend or was He a cruel taskmaster?

Whoever He was, Jesus was patient—and persistent.  I could not dismiss the Gospel claims about Jesus dying on a Roman cross for the sin of humankind; then, being raised from the dead on that first Easter morning.  Maybe Jesus had every right to invite me to “take up my cross daily” and follow Him.  After all, He had left me an example—He obediently carried His cross to His death by crucifixion.

As an adolescent, I learned to associate “cross bearing” with the love of God for all people.  That God’s love is expressed through “burden bearing” became more real to me one Christmas when we received stamps from Father Flanagan’s Boys Town.  Each stamp pictured a boy carrying his younger brother on his shoulders to school in the deep snow.  On each stamp were the words of the older brother expressing his burden-bearing love: “He ain’t heavy, Father.  He’s m’ brother.”

God continued to affirm His love and patience toward me as I finished high school and college.  Then, as a graduate student, I repented of my sin under the Power of Christ’s cross.  I felt the burden of sin and guilt roll off of my shoulders.  Then, through prayer, I invited Jesus to become Lord of my life, and willingly began to live as His servant.  Since then, I have been making it my priority to follow Jesus’s invitation in Luke 9: 23, noted earlier.  In seeking His path of self-denial and cross-bearing, I am moving ever closer to what the Apostle Paul described as knowing Jesus intimately, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3: 10).  But, please don’t think I have “arrived spiritually.”  I gladly identify with Paul’s humility when he wrote, Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on… (3: 12).

Being a Christ-follower (disciple) requires disciplines that take years to develop.  Thankfully, God does not ask His followers to “go it alone.”  Instead, each obedient Christ-follower (those who “keep His commandments” as explained in 1 John 2: 4-6) “abides in Christ” and Christ abides in him or her (1 John 4: 16).  Therefore, Christ-followers are spiritually united with each other in the body of Christ.  And so, we who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another (Romans 12: 5).  Like embers of a fire that maintain their glow by staying together, so each Christ-follower can keep his or her faith ablaze by following God’s plan to regularly gather together for worship, study, and relationship-building in Christ (Hebrews 10: 23-25).

John the Baptist--Burdened and Alone
In spite of my growing faith, I was still puzzled with the apparent contradiction between the blessed life God offers and the burdens He expects His children to bear.  Matthew 11 addresses this apparent contradiction.  Here we learn that John the Baptist was languishing in prison like an ember from the fire separated from the fellowship of other Christ-followers.  John’s faith was apparently faltering.  So, he sent his disciples to inquire whether Jesus was really the “Expected One.”  After all, John had been sent as a forerunner of Jesus to call his listeners to repentance and to point out the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1: 29).  Could it be that John had been mistaken?  If not, why was Jesus requiring him to bear such a burden of lonely imprisonment and impending death (Matthew 14: 1-12)?

F.B. Meyer writes in Great Verses through the Bible (Zondervan, 1966): 
“The Baptist was tempted to take offense with Christ, first, because of His long delay in asserting Himself as the promised Messiah; and secondly, because of His apparent indifference to his own welfare. "If He be all that I expected, why does He leave me in this sad plight, extending to me no word of comfort; making no attempt to free me from these dark, damp cells."

Meyer then applies John's suffering to the lives of burden bearers today:
“Are there not such hours in our lives still?  We say, if He really loves us and is entrusted with all power, why does He not deliver us from this difficult and irksome condition? Why does He not hurl these Prison Walls to the ground? Why does He not vindicate and bring me out to the light of life and joy?”

Jesus answered John's plea with this encouraging reply to the messengers John had sent:  Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me (Matthew 11: 4-5).

In the words of F.B. Meyer, Jesus was saying to John the Baptist,
“’Tell him to trust Me, though I do not deliver him.  Assure him of the blessedness which must accrue to those who are not offended at My apparent neglect.  I will explain all to him some day.' Thus, he speaks still.  He does not attempt to apologize, nor to explain--He only asks our trust and promises blessedness to those who do not stumble at life's mysteries.”

Jesus-- Perfect Burden Bearer
Today, many people bear heavy burdens.  Those who reject God’s claims on their lives and live under the penalty of sin may encounter unbearable burdens that lead to depression, drug addiction, and even death.  At the same time, obedience to Christ does not guarantee an easy path.  Statistics reveal that more and more Christ-followers are suffering greatly for their faith.  At least 327 million Christians are enduring persecution according to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).  Approximately “245 million Christians in the top 50 countries on Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch List experience high levels of persecution (i.e.: torture, rape, sex-slavery, forced conversion, murder and genocide), an increase of 14 percent from 2018.”

Many people who have been and are still suffering for their faith have been encouraged by the words of Jesus to the imprisoned John the Baptist.  First, Jesus’s words contained no hint of condemnation of John’s weak faith and doubt.  Instead, we see a God who allowed John to suffer the burden of rejection and persecution now come alongside through His Son Jesus with words of love and encouragement (v. 4-6).

Second, we see Jesus’s response when His ministry faced the burden of ridicule and rejection: He sought comfort in the Spirit of God and in fellowship through prayer with His Father in Heaven (v. 25-26).  And finally, Jesus, as if He is strengthened in His own resolve, lovingly invites all to come to Him by faith to receive relief from heavy burdens He knows we are carrying, and invites us to share in His “easier yoke.”  Jesus says,

Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (v. 28-30).

When we submit to Christ’s “easy yoke” in faith and in recognition of the great burden He bore to purchase our freedom from the curse of sin (2 Corinthians 5: 17), we gain access to His love and strength to bear our own cross for Him.  Jesus reveals Himself as gentle and humble in heart, willing to understand our limitations and to give us a reasonable yoke to bear.  As we submit willingly to His strong presence under His “yoke,” we will actually find “rest for our souls.”  What an amazing truth!  Jesus makes our burdens lighter because He helps us carry them.

Burden Bearing Benefits of Abiding in Christ
The Apostle John as a young disciple of Jesus experienced close-hand Jesus’s great love for His Father in Heaven and for all mankind.  John’s Gospel includes Jesus’s most thorough teaching on burden-bearing obedience to God as an expression of our love for Him (John 15: 9-13).  In his first letter, John explains in warm, personal terms the blessed result of saving faith in Christ:  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5: 3).

The aged Apostle John who penned these words had learned the answer to the apparent contradiction of how a person could find blessedness in burden bearing.  John’s answer, in a word, is “love.”   John wrote in 1 John 4: 19, We love, because He first loved us.  He wrote in 1 John 3: 1, See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. 

How do Christ-followers respond to such great love?  By offering their willing obedience.  Jesus described obedience as “abiding in Him” like branches connected to the True Vine (John 15).  Just as the branches of a grapevine produce fruit from nutrients supplied by the vine, so our abiding in Christ produces in us the fruit of righteousness—i.e. expressed qualities of right-living that please God.  These qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, etc. (Galatians 5: 22-23) are formed in us as we yield to the work of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives.  He is our Helper, Teacher, and Counselor (John 15: 26; 16: 13-15).  As we abide in our Savior, love our Father in Heaven as Jesus loves Him, and rely on God’s Spirit to empower us, God’s love in us becomes blessedness in the midst of the burdensome. 

Remembering the words of the boy carrying his little brother, I can say, “Jesus’s commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5: 3), He’s my Brother.  He’s shown His love for me by dying on His cross, then rising from the dead and sending His Holy Spirit.  Thanks to His Spirit, my Helper, Teacher, and Counselor, I can find His yoke easy and His burden light (Matthew 11: 30).”

How About You?
Maybe you are now carrying heavy physical or emotional burdens.  If we are honest, we have to admit that we all bear burdens of one sort or another.  Some of us bear burdens of our own making by our wrong choices.  Christ-followers remember Jesus’s promise that in the world you will have troubles (John 16: 33a).  Many Christ-followers experience God’s loving nearness most when the burdens are greatest.  In those times, we realize the remainder of Jesus’s promise:  …be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.   Have you experienced peace, relief, and even blessedness during times of heavy burden bearing when you surrendered to Jesus’s yoke?

Regrets and Resolutions

The arrival of another year’s end and the New Year holiday is an important transition in time.  The Romans worshiped Janus as the god of beginnings and transitions.  Janus, from whom we get the name of the first month of each year, was depicted with two faces, one looking backward, the other looking forward.   

The image of Janus represents me today.  I’m thinking about the past and wondering about the future.  My natural tendency to look backward with regrets, and to look forward with a combination of doubt, fear, and determination to “do better.”  But today, I’m seeking a clearer understanding of how to “look both directions” in an emotionally and spiritually healthy way.  First off, I’m especially concerned about regrets from the past.

Last Sunday, our senior pastor, Zach Swift, in his message, "Immeasurably More," cited an interesting study.  A large chalk board was placed in lower Manhattan’s Petrosino Square with an invitation to passersby to “Write Your Biggest Regret.”  A camera was positioned to make a video recording of the interesting responses.  As you can see from the video, most respondents expressed various regrets including:
        Not getting involved
        Not being a better friend
        Never going after my dreams
        Not saying “I love you.”
        Not making the most of every day
        Not staying in touch
        All the self-hatred I put myself through

For every publicly admissible regret like these, there are dozens we tend to keep to ourselves.  Regrets emerge within us when we look backward into the silence of time gone by.

How do we dispel the regret, loneliness, helplessness, self-loathing, and even despair that erupt in our sad memories?  As time-bound humans, we are no match for the accusing voices from our past or the uncertain future that looms ahead.  Yet, it is during our low points that we must face a fundamental question: “Is there really a God who loves us and has shown His love and plan of redemption from our sins through His Gift of Jesus Christ?”  Each of us have already answered this question, if not by deliberate faith response, at least by the way we think and live.  Either we have believed in God and are learning to put our trust in Him, or we have rejected Him out of disbelief and have placed ourselves on the throne of our lives.  If we have “enthroned ourselves” as “god,” we are “on our own” in a stark, physical world governed by chance encounters and purposeless outcomes?  At one time, I experienced this reality.

King Solomon is noted for his outstanding wisdom (1 Kings 4: 30-34).  But later in life, Solomon fell into despair when he failed to find meaning and purpose in any of his wealth, pursuits, and pleasures “under the sun” (apart from a God-centered worldview).  He repeatedly cried, Vanity of vanities, all is vanity (Ecclesiastes 12: 8)!  However, when Solomon viewed time and eternity from God’s point of view, he wrote, Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3: 11).

The Eternal God has created us to live in a time-bound world but He has also enabled us to imagine eternity.  At Christmas, many celebrate God becoming incarnate man in the bodily form of Jesus Christ.  God became man and stepped from Eternity into our finite world of time.  According to the Bible, our only hope against sin and regrets of the past is to accept Christ, God’s Gift of salvation from sin and death.  Then, we can develop a personal relationship with Christ through daily communion with Him by prayer and reading His Word, the Bible. 

When I abide in Christ (obey His commands for my good; John 15: 1-10), I can look backward and face my “chalk board of regrets.” Then, I can take each regret to God through a humble prayer of repentance where sin was involved (1 John 1: 9; Romans 7: 14-25).  Christ can also give me the humility, grace, and power to go to a person I have offended (Matthew 5: 23-26) or to a person who has offended me (Matthew 18: 15-17) to seek or give forgiveness and become reconciled.  Christ can also help me to forget my failings or turn them into lessons for victory in the future.  In these ways, as I appropriate the provisions of my loving Heavenly Father, my chalk board of past regrets can become a “clean slate.”

Returning to my “Janus” metaphor, when my backward-looking face (and my heart) sees real progress and victory over regret from my past, my forward-looking face (and heart) is encouraged.  With God as my strength and guide, I am encouraged to press on with purpose and courage. 

The Apostle Paul’s life is a testimony of how we can deal with past regrets and make resolutions for a victorious future.  In Philippians 3: 4-6, Paul “looks backward” and reveals his legalistic past as a Pharisee of the Jewish faith which included zealous persecution and imprisonment of Christians.  Then, in verses 7-11, Paul boldly contrasts the reputation he had treasured in his old life with the greater treasure of knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death….  In case his readers would think that he had arrived at perfection, Paul hastens to say (v. 12), Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

From my study of Paul’s experience, humility, and balance, I find real encouragement to look back into 2019 at my regrets, to repent of my sin, and seek reconciliation where necessary.  Then, I can look ahead into 2020 with particular resolutions, or better yet, spiritual goals.  I have written out my spiritual goals on a file card as a ready reminder, and I share them here in case you may benefit from them.  Please realize that I share them very much in the spirit of Paul expressed in Philippians 3: 12 above.  

If you think I am overdoing it, “overly spiritual,” or in any way high-minded, just realize that the more I become aware of my own bent toward sin and rejection of God’s rule in my life, the more I find the need to be “filled with His Spirit” (Ephesians 5: 15-21) and deliberate about feeding on God’s Word (Psalm 119: 9-12).  May you too, find joy, inspiration, and a real sense that God is abiding in you and using you through the power of His Spirit as you abide in His Word, commune with Him, and fellowship with God’s people in 2020.

How About You?  If you have never surrendered to the claims of Christ and asked Him to forgive you and be your Savior, I refer you to Steps to Peace with God which will explain how you can become a Christ-follower.  Without Christ, you are dead in sin and are facing eternal separation from God.  Romans 8: 6-7 states that without making peace with God, you remain hostile toward God [and your mind is not "tuned" to the Spirit of God].  In fact, according to Romans 8: 7-8, you are not even able to do so... With Christ on the thone of your life, and the hunger He can give you for His Word and fellowship with His Spirit, you can gain a new and clear perspective on your past (triumphs and regrets) and set fruitful spiritual goals for your future.  If you have questions, I'd be glad to communicate with you.  Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail me at silviusj@cedarville.edu

Advent: Light Still Shines into Darkness

The people who walk in darkness

     Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
     The light will shine on them. – Isaiah 9:2

This prophetic promise of God that Messiah would be coming as the “light of the world” was revealed through the prophet Isaiah 700 years before the birth of Christ.  Yet God’s promise at the time was only the most recent of many promises of a coming Redeemer dating all the way back to the curse and fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden.  There, God had promised while addressing Satan that the “offspring of the woman” shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (Genesis 3: 15).  Throughout the generations from Adam to the birth of Jesus Christ, the Jews had lived with a sense of anticipated Advent (“coming” or “arrival”) of Messiah, the promised Deliverer, or Savior.

Today, believers in Messiah proclaim that He has come as our Redeemer.  The incarnation, God the Son, Jesus Christ was born, lived a sinless life, and became the atoning sacrifice for our sins through His death and resurrection.  Ours is but to repent of our sin and receive His Gift of salvation (Romans 10: 9-10). 

Today many Christ-followers observe Advent during the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day, celebrating the birth of Christ as well as the “Joy to the World” He will bring in His anticipated return (John 14: 1-3).  In our home, we now observe the period of Advent by taking time regularly to read Christmas-related Scripture and to prepare our hearts for a spirit of anticipation and reverence toward God who kept His promises and sent His Son to rescue us from darkness.

Our celebration of Advent began about 15 years ago when Craig Miller, our senior pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Cedarville, emphasized the observance of Advent.  Given the impact of Advent in our home since then, it was a special blessing to read the December 16 post by Pastor Craig Miller in his blog, The Village Pastor, entitled “The Word Came…to the Sasak.”  I have included the link to this article here because, in it, Pastor Craig provides a powerful example of how God is still keeping His promise that The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.  In this account, the light of God’s truth was brought through translation of the New Testament into the language of 3.5 million Sasak people who live on the Indonesian island of Lombok where 99.99% are Muslim.  Craig and his wife, Kathy, were privileged to be eyewitnesses of the translation ministry effort through their visits to the island of Lombok from 1990 to 2005.

As you read this short but powerful account of how the light of Truth came into darkness, I hope you will be inspired to praise God for the Advent of Christ who has come to us "full of grace and truth" (John 1: 17).  May God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness (2 Corinthians 4: 6)…stir your heart and mine to speak and live in such a way that we… sanctify Christ as Lord in [our] hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks [us] to give an account for the hope that is in [us], yet with gentleness and reverence…(1 Peter 3: 15).  Let’s be ready, and let’s point others to Him!

Thanksgiving for Our “Family Tree”

As I look forward to our family gathering on Thanksgiving this year, I am filled with thankfulness when consider all the past circumstances that have clicked into place to make us “family.”  Like the pin tumblers on a lock that fall into place only in response to the right door key, so is the myriad of choices and circumstances that have unfolded to bring our family into existence.

The analogy of a “family tree” becomes more meaningful the more I think of it.  Like a large tree, our family has both branches and roots that have grown during the last fifty years since Abby and I were married on June 14, 1969.  We thank God for His salvation by grace through Jesus’s obedient sacrifice that has given us both Life in Him.  Then, He allowed circumstances to bring us together as students on the campus of Malone College.  Two first-born’s, each with our own self-centered wills and priorities, could never have “become one” and “remained one” for over one-half century without God’s grace and mercy.  Yet, Christ spanned the infinite gulf between God’s holiness and our sinful separation to redeem us, purchasing our forgiveness (Titus 2: 11-14).  Because of His loving sacrifice, we see the gulf of our differences as tiny and manageable as we lean on our Savior for our daily needs.

Our marriage has also produced a family tree with two wonderful branches, a son, Bradley Allen, and a daughter, Melinda Maetta.  They eventually married and their loved ones will now take their places at our Thanksgiving table.  As we gather this year, I realize that our two branches have grown and branched more to form a wonderfully diverse “international family” representing numerous nationalities.   But, in order to appreciate our international family, let’s refer to our “roots” derived from our parents and grandparents.

Abby and I understand that her grandmother, Alva Mae (Kennedy) Bright, was one-fourth Native American, representing the Cherokee Nation of western North Carolina.   Alva married John E. Bright who was of English descent.  They settled and raised ten children in East Tennessee near their places of birth.  Alva’s oldest daughter, Marietta Bright, married Ralph Moser who was of German descent.  Marietta bore seven daughters, the oldest being Alvadell (“Abby”).

My grandfather, Earl Bauders, was a descendent of British and Irish lineages.  When Earl who was an Englishman “came courting” my grandmother, Naoma Troyer, he had a challenging time earning the trust and respect of her family.  The Troyer’s were part of the Amish culture of Holmes County, Ohio.  The Amish are of Swiss German Anabaptist origin.  Earl and Naoma’s daughter, Esther Mae Bauders, married my father, Bert Silvius, who was of German descent.  Although I have not explored Silvius genealogy back to the Revolutionary War era, the Silvius family is rumored to have come to America during the late 1700’s.  The Silvius’s may have been among the Hessians who fought against the Continental Army led by George Washington at Valley Forge.

Large trees depend upon hundreds of miles of roots!  Each major tree root is anchored and nourished by untold numbers of tiny roots and rootlets extending throughout the soil.  Likewise, our current family tree is rooted in a myriad of past choices, marriages, and circumstances that God has allowed to occur among our ancestors representing many nations and tribes that Abby and I have never met. 

If we are all able to gather together on Thanksgiving this year, the two branches that God allowed Abby and I to form; Bradley and Melinda, will have brought additional international flavor to our table.  Brad’s wife, Raquel, came to Ann Arbor, Michigan from Rio Grande do sul, the southern-most state of Brazil, South America.  According to historical records, Rio Grande do sul has had a gaucho culture like neighboring Argentina and Uruguay, and has since been influenced by Portuguese, German, and Italian immigrants.

Meanwhile, Melinda, married Steve Salyers.  The Salyers name is traceable to Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain.  The Salyers may have come to America in response to religious and political persecution.  Melinda and Steve have three children, Caleb, Kiara, and Della Rose.  This year Caleb and his new bride, Gurvinder Mahi Salyers, will be the latest couple to form in our family.  Gurvinder (“Soni”) was born in America, a daughter of parents who emigrated from India.

And so, this Thanksgiving, our gathering will represent the newest branches of our “family tree” rooted in a wonderfully diverse international heritage and branching outward and upward in ways that only our Sovereign God can foreknow.  Abby and I thank God for His provision of our marriage and family, and we pray and hope for HIs blessing and provision for our offspring. 


Know that YAHWEH Himself is God;
It is He who has made us,
and not we ourselves;
We are His people
and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise. 
Give thanks to Him;
bless His name.   – Psalm 100: 3-4

Discovery and Renewal on Huffman Prairie

Discovery and Renewal on the Huffman Prairie:  Where Aviation Took Wing (Kent State University Press, 2018) is a delightfully readable and colorfully illustrated book.  Its author, David Nolin, masterfully integrates Southwest Ohio geology, ecology, history, technology, and culture to tell the rich story of how Huffman Prairie State Natural Landmark near Dayton, Ohio came into being.  Aa a result of the land stewardship restoration efforts of Dave and partnering land stewards, Huffman Prairie is now blossoming as a resurrected expanse of colorful mesic prairie located on Wright-Patterson Air Force.

Readers will learn how Dave Nolin discovered the remnant of a historic native prairie and became engaged in its restoration as Huffman Prairie.  But readers will also learn how the prairie instilled within the author a land ethic based on love and respect for historic natural areas as treasures worthy of his professional attention and restoration.  Partly as a result of this early engagement with the land, Dave enjoyed a fruitful career as land stewardship specialist with Dayton-Montgomery Five-Rivers MetroParks and is responsible for negotiating and closing over 7,000 acres of newly acquired natural areas and easements during his 30 years with the agency. 

The story of Huffman Prairie is also an important thread within the early settlement history of Ohio in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  A highlight of this history is the account of how the Wright Brothers of Dayton, Ohio used a nearby pasture field that was once part of a 3-square-mile open prairie grassland, to test and improve their “flying machine” in the early 1900’s.  But long before the Wright planes took wing over this remnant prairie, grassland birds like Eastern Meadowlark and Bobolink were flying over this pre-settlement landscape, pouring their praises over a sea of beautiful prairie grasses and colorful native wildflowers.  Readers will wonder how the Dayton area was blessed with such an unusual treasure of beauty and diversity.   

The answer comes when Nolin takes us back even further in time, into the geologic history of what is now Ohio and the Midwest.  Here, he explains the forces that shaped the landscape and allowed for complex prairie ecosystems to form.  With the help of abundant maps, diagrams, and photographs, readers can learn how bedrock layers were formed by sedimentation under a great deluge, then uplifted, buckled, and eroded to form rivers and valleys.  Then, came the ice age in which glaciers shaped the landscape and left behind porous soil deposits.  The resulting complex of wetlands and prairies that developed on these glacial soils over time was a biological wonder that was much more complex than the Wright “flying machine.”

As settlers entered the Miami Valley in the 18^th century, impacts of agriculture and urbanization began to threaten the survival of the original forest and prairie communities.  Gradually, farmers drained and plowed up the prairie sod.  Others built roads, railways, and airport runways.   But, although readers like me are saddened by the gradual whittling away of the expansive prairie, Nolin does not present the history of Huffman Prairie as a woeful account of hopeless environmental degradation in the face of “progress.”  Rather, as Nolin tells us, the story of Huffman Prairie reveals how a few forward-thinking scientists, naturalists, and common citizens took steps to protect and restore remnant portions of natural areas in Ohio.

I was encouraged by what I perceive as my friend, the author’s philosophy of environmental stewardship.  Although we may differ in the exact presuppositions that form our respective worldviews, we agree that it is possible to address the potentially conflicting demands of human civilization while successfully conserving habitats and biodiversity. 

Page 135 (Kent State U. Press. 2018) 

The answer is wise land stewardship which not only conserves natural and biological resources but also provides inviting “places” where we can go and be refreshed in body, soul, and spirit.  Time spent working, restoring, and reflecting in these places all help us distinguish our wants from our actual needs in a consumer culture that so often has too little time to be quiet, reflective, and restorative.  If this is true, Nolin’s book is well named because although today’s Huffman Prairie is only a fragment of the original prairie ecosystems now largely transformed into agricultural and urban enterprises, this small remnant prairie will continue to be a place our generation and the next can go for discovery and renewal.

Nolin’s summary of the extensive historical and cultural scope detailed in Discovery and Renewal on the Huffman Prairie:  Where Aviation Took Wing, reminded me of the epic and thought-provoking television mini-series, Centennial, which portrays the history of several human ethnic cultures in what is now Colorado. The following excerpt (page 73) should encourage and challenge every reader who aspires to practice environmental stewardship in our fast-paced technological age:

The big prairie was gone, but the human and American achievements on this grassland in less than 80 years were unprecedented.  Here the first practical powered aircraft had been tested and flown, with a large impact on world history.  The prairie was an important part of an innovative flood control system that has protected Dayton and other communities along the Great Miami River from flooding.  Here the Wright Company School of Aviation trained the world's first generation of pilots.  The prairie land became an important part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, an important facility for National Defense.  Wright-Patt supports world-class aviation, engineering, and research facilities, and is a major employer for the region.

That these achievements resulted in the loss of the biologically diverse living systems that once thrived on the landscape was not widely known or considered except by a few.  Agnes Anderson Hall, John Van Cleve's biographer, reflected on the progress and loss at Huffman Prairie in "Letters from John":

"The "wet prairie" has lost its fringed gentians, in deed, but in the first years of this [20^th] century it's flat expanse recommended itself to two young men of the Van Cleve blood and tradition-- as a place well adapted to experiments with their new invention-- a machine that would fly!  A Government Flying Field now bears their name on the spot where one day a breathless crowd watched in tense silence while Orrville Wright soared three thousand feet into the air!  The Wright brothers led the way into the wilderness of the air as the Van Cleves had ventured forth on earth; they scaled the ramparts of the clouds as those, their forebears, had scaled the Alleghenies; they faced the scorn of unbelief, and beat back dangers and possessed their goal with the same courage, the same indomitable perseverance, the same effacement of self. Their lives were as full of peril and daring; their deeds were as replete with romance."

Nolin concludes:  Environmental awareness and general understanding of the complexity and value of living systems were a science and ethic that didn't start in a meaningful way until the early 20th century, but they grew swiftly in the 1970's and 1980's. This increased awareness and valuation of biodiversity and natural systems was to combine with a bit of luck to bring back a piece of Huffman Prairie in 1986.

 In Chapter 6, “A Prairie Renaissance,” the Nolin recounts how, as a graduate student at Wright State University, he was inspired by the growing conservation ethic of the 1980’s.  I was blessed to read Dave’s own personal account of how he and his father first discovered some native prairie plant populations that had survived after many centuries, now on the grounds of Wright-Patterson Air Force base.  What followed was an organized effort to restore the prairie and acquire its current Natural Landmark status. 

Readers will want to visit Huffman Prairie after they see on the pages of Discovery and Renewal on the Huffman Prairie the dozens of color photos of animal and plant species that currently reside in the prairie.  Nolin also includes a current listing of common and scientific names of plants of Huffman Prairie and helpful notes and references, helpful for those interested in the history of the Dayton, Ohio area.  Why not treat yourself to this book and buy a copy for friends who love history, nature, and working in land stewardship efforts?  Who knows, reading Discovery and Renewal and taking a trip to Huffman Prairie might even capture the imagination of a few young people who will enlist in environmental stewardship efforts in the future.

Black History 3: Bible and Biology Erase Racism

Infants and young children often enjoy a blissful existence, oddly enough because of their ignorance.  For example, a boy baby or toddler can have just as much fun at play with a girl and her dolls as with his own toy trucks and tools.  Many a child can as much enjoy the warmth and love of a dedicated stepmother or adoptive parents as that of his or her biological parents.  And, young children can enjoy playing with other young children without being distracted by differences in skin color, hair, or facial contours.  Everything seems to fit well into a child’s simple scheme of things.

Racism is Sin We Learn to Practice
But as children grow older and learn more about the world, their understanding becomes darkened by values that run contrary to both God’s created order and His revealed Truth recorded in the Bible.  When parents or other authorities in the child’s life practice racial discrimination or racism, the child suddenly learns that their black or white friends are somehow inferior, or of lesser value, or are their enemies. 

The fact that racial discrimination and hatred are passed from one generation to the next is illustrated clearly in the movie, 42.  This 2013 film records how Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier to become the first black major league baseball player.  One scene in which Jackie was playing in a game in Cincinnati features a boy seated in the stands next to his racist father.  The boy’s enjoyment of baseball was marred by confusion over his dad’s racial slurs against Robinson.  Soon, out of respect for his dad, the boy began to chime in to express his own racial protests.  How many times has this scenario been repeated over many generations?

What happens in the human heart that transforms an innocent child who had once enjoyed play with other children regardless of ethnicity to a child that is guarded, suspicious, or resentful of another person who is simply “different?”  Racial and ethnic strife is nurtured when experiences feed our natural inclinations toward pride and spiritual rebellion against God who created us.  Meanwhile, God reveals His truth through the Bible, history, and the sciences.  For those who humbly study these sources of truth, understanding brings great reward.  Jesus promised those who will follow Him:  If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8: 31-32).

In Part 1 of this series, “Correct History Brings Light,” we considered how ethnic minorities were instrumental in America’s founding.  By the time of the American Revolution, minority Americans like Crispus Attucks were already part of a “melting pot” of ethnicities that was instrumental in the forging of the United States of America.  Attucks who died in the Boston Massacre is reportedly the first casualty of the Revolution.  Interestingly, Attucks himself was an ethnic “melting pot.”  Although he appeared to be an African American, only Attucks’ father was of African descent, while his mother, Nancy Attucks, was a Native American of the Natick tribe.  A better understanding of how Black history is interwoven culturally and genetically with American history is necessary to evaluate the notion of Reparations which we discussed in Part 2.

A correct understanding of Black history and how it is intertwined with American history, it is necessary that we consider what the science of biology is revealing to us about the human race.  As always, we must try to integrate (i.e. logically and consistently fit into a complete whole) what we discover about humankind through science with what God reveals in the Scriptures of the Bible.

Scripture Says, “One Race”
Racism is a complex issue that I am still learning to understand.  However, since I have placed my faith in Jesus Christ and in the authority of God’s Word, the Bible, I must turn to God and His Word for answers to my questions and pray for wisdom to direct my communication and behavior.  Therefore, we will begin by considering what God has revealed about His creation of humankind, His provision for all people, and His principles intended for our good.

After God had created all except humankind, we read in Genesis 1: 26-27:
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
and Genesis 2: 7,
Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Jesus Christ was with God at Creation.  “Our likeness” above suggests the Trinity. The Apostle John wrote, All things were made by Him (Jesus Christ); and without Him was not anything made that was made (John 1: 3).  Jesus in turn spoke of the creation of Adam and Eve:
“Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’?

The Apostle Paul taught both Jews and Gentiles in Athens that they were all of one race (emphasis mine):
He (God) made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation…indicating that all of humanity, regardless of “race,” gender, or origin, are offspring of the first man and woman (Acts 17: 26).  Paul adds specific reference to the man, Adam, in 1 Corinthians 15: 45-47:  So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.  However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

Taken together these Scriptures clearly teach us that all humans are descendants of one specially created man, Adam.  So, we all comprise “one race,” not many races.  It follows that just as the “first Adam” is father of the human race, so the “second Adam,” Jesus Christ, Adam’s descendent through the line of Abraham [Abraham (Hebrew) = “father of many nations”] is the “father” of all who repent of sin and are born again by faith in Him.  In fact, Paul continued his message to Athens with these words (emphasis mine):  Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man (Jesus Christ) whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17: 30-31).

The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel presents a biblical view of social justice with respect to race relations and ethnicity:
God made all people from one man. Though people often can be distinguished by different ethnicities and nationalities, they are ontological equals before God in both creation and redemption. “Race” is not a biblical category, but rather a social construct that often has been used to classify groups of people in terms of inferiority and superiority. All that is good, honest, just, and beautiful in various ethnic backgrounds and experiences can be celebrated as the fruit of God’s grace. All sinful actions and their results (including evils perpetrated between and upon ethnic groups by others) are to be confessed as sinful, repented of, and repudiated.

As the above statement clearly states, the Bible nowhere supports the notion of racism.  Instead, racism is rooted in Darwinian evolution which claims that pre-human primates evolved into different lines, or "races" leading to present day Caucasian, Negroid, Asian, and other ethnicities.  Because evolution theory assumes that natural selection leads to differences in visible and other traits related to survival, it follows that some "races" must be superior to others.  In, “World History Without HIS Story,” I explain how the Darwinian mindset provided the basis for Nazi Germany’s eugenics experiment involving the Holocaust, the aim of which was to deliberately exterminate Jews and favor the “Aryan race.”  Some educators, both Christian and secular, prefer the use of “ethnic group” or “people group” rather than the term “race.”  Biology and genetics support the Scriptural teaching that humanity is “one race” not many races.

Biology Says, “Race Is Not Rooted in Reality”
An increasing number of scientists believe the term “race” is genetically meaningless.  The American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA) has drafted an official “Statement on Race and Racism.” The statement includes the following rejection of “race” as a useful genetic concept:  Race does not provide an accurate representation of human biological variation. It was never accurate in the past, and it remains inaccurate when referencing contemporary human populations.

Interestingly, while the AAPA Statement denies that race has its “roots in biological reality,” nevertheless it admits that “racism” exists as a social problem rooted “in policies of discrimination.”  That is, racism can be attributed to “a classification system that emerged from, and in support of, European colonialism, oppression, and discrimination.”  Unfortunately, the AAPA Statement fails to identify the role of Darwinian evolution as a major cause of the emergence of ethnic minority oppression and extermination under Hitler as noted above.

Referring to decades of research by the Human Genome Variation Project, the AAPA Statement notes that a genetic comparison of all humans reveals that the genetic makeup of any two randomly chosen persons in the world will differ by no more than 0.1% (one-tenth of 1 percent) of their genes.  According to Natalie Angier (“Do Races Differ?  Not Really.  Genes Show)”, New York Times, Aug. 22, 2000), only approximately 0.01 percent of the variation among all humans involves genes commonly associated with “race-distinguishing” traits like skin color.  D. J. Witherspoon, S. Wooding, et al. publishing in the journal, Genetics (176: 351–359  May, 2007), concluded, “…most human genetic variation is found within populations, not between them.”  Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall, both at the American Museum of Natural History, conclude, “race is a totally inadequate way of characterizing diverse humankind or even of helping understand humanity’s glorious variety.”

We began by reflecting on the bliss enjoyed by the baby or toddler who can enjoy being at play with another child regardless of outward differences in appearance.  Meanwhile, because of human spiritual depravity, adults worldwide behave like spoiled children who learn to reject and abuse others who look or act differently.   When will we realize the sin of racism?  In so doing, we defy God’s creative purposes by wrongly dividing human beings who differ by only a few genes that determine outward appearance?  Although racism is real and damaging on a cultural level, there is not enough genetic difference to consider it real biologically.  How tragic!  

The challenge for Christ-followers is to understand the following:
a)  What the Scriptures teach about the origin of all humans from the ”first Adam” (Genesis 1-2)
b)  The reason why we are spiritually depraved (Genesis 3; Romans 1-2)
c)  Why God sent His only Son as the “second Adam” (1 Corinthians 15: 45)
d)  Our need to repent and receive Christ's free Gift of salvation and restoration (Acts 17: 30-31)
For more information on how you can receive the Gift of Salvation, CLICK HERE for "Steps to Peace with God."

Those who come to Christ by faith can fully celebrate human ethnic diversity.  That means celebrating the way in which God and "HIStory" has melted ethnic diversity for the benefit of many nations, America included.  And best of all, Christ-followers can assist in the harvest of souls of every ethnicity, all of whom God loves and invites to live with Him throughout eternity if they claim His righteousness by faith in the blood of Christ.

Shining Moral Light into Dark Places

All of us like stories about noble and heroic acts of men and women.  These accounts affirm that there are many outstanding, unselfish, and courageous people.  Yet we also realize that the world has some very evil people.  To many, this remains a paradox.  How can there be humans who rise to such levels of sacrificial love and kindness while there are others whose pride and selfishness drive them to destroy human lives for the sake of power or pleasure?

Perhaps the two most tragic practices in which powerful adults inflict harm and even death upon babies and children are abortion and child pornography, respectively.  While the frequency of abortions in the USA has been steadily declining, the increasing acceptance of the practice of “after-birth abortions” or infanticide is very troubling.  Meanwhile, the presence of online child sexual abuse imagery (CSAI) has been increasing almost exponentially.

Plague of Child Sexual Abuse Imagery
Hopefully, a recent New York Times article (Sept. 28, 2019) by Michael H. Keller and Gabriel J.X. Dance will draw much needed attention to the horrific statistics on CSAI and its terrible toll on the lives of our innocent children.  The article is entitled “The Internet Is Overrun with Images of Child Sexual Abuse. What Went Wrong?”

I should warn readers that you may not want to read Keller and Dance’s article because the authors document crimes of assault, rape, and torture by adults against children as young as 3 or 4 years old.  These acts are filmed by other very selfish, twisted criminals for the purpose of online marketing to consumers who are themselves addicted to pornography.

What is most troubling are the stark statistics documenting the explosion of this illegal activity from the underbelly of our culture:
In 1998, there were over 3,000 reports of child sexual abuse imagery. 
Just over a decade later, yearly reports soared past 100,000. 
In 2014, that number surpassed 1 million for the first time.  
Last year, there were 18.4 million, more than one-third of the total ever reported.  Those reports included over 45 million images and videos flagged as child sexual abuse.

Obviously, laws against child pornography and law enforcement have not been successful in this war to protect our children against what has become an increasingly sophisticated underworld.  We are losing the current battle largely due to increasing usage of encryption to assure that privacy of law-abiding internet users is protected.  Encryption, particularly of social media platforms like Facebook Messenger and Snapchat has made it possible for child predators and abusers to conduct their sordid business.  Keller and Dance cite a recent article published in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which stated that reports of online child abuse images were “exceeding the capabilities of independent clearinghouses and law enforcement to take action.”

God’s Moral Standards and Judgment
Clearly, the sordid acts of sexual abuse, torture, and murder of children ought to be considered unthinkable crimes against humanity.  However, even more despicable is the practice of digitally recording and distributing these images on the internet for profit.  Furthermore, this material is then available to feed pornographic addictions of the more hardened addicts.  This sordid behavior should remind us of our universal human need to live according to the moral standards God has revealed in Scripture for the good of humanity.

The horrible nature of CSAI should remind us of the universal nature of sin, rebellion against God’s authority. The account of the first sin as it entered God’s perfect creation is recorded in the Biblical account of the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve yielded to the allurement of Satan who appealed to the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life (Genesis 3; 1 John 2: 16).  When Adam and Eve chose to eat from one forbidden tree out of an abundance of wonderful trees and other provisions God had made for them, they rebelled against the moral boundaries God had given them for their good (Romans 1: 18-21).  The result was the invasion of sin and death that has continued to plague Adam’s offspring throughout the millennia ever since.

Thankfully, the Apostle Paul and many other New Testament writers address our lost human condition and also God’s provision of salvation through the “Second Adam,”  Jesus Christ.  Paul wrote that he was not ashamed of the Gospel…for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith (i.e. how we can be restored to right standing before God) (Romans 1: 16-17).  Paul continues by explaining the consequences of human rejection of God’s moral authority, beginning with ungratefulness and lack of reverence for a holy God.  Namely, we have become darkened in our understanding, spiritually blinded, foolish in our thinking, and idolatrous (Romans 1: 18-23).

But, as we read beyond Romans 1: 23, we realize the depth of our descent into moral depravity.  Beginning in verse 24, the Apostle Paul describes how humans have rejected God’s moral standards of heterosexual relationships within marriage taught in the Old Testament (Genesis 2: 21-25) and reinforced by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 19:4-6).  The consequences are “degrading passions” in which both men and women “exchanged the natural function” for “unnatural function” (Romans 1: 24-32).  Choosing to act contrary to God’s design for human sexuality in any of its perversions is both immoral and destructive to the spiritual flourishing of mankind.  

Paul addresses immorality in 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10, asking his readers, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.  Paul further warns us,
Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light (Ephesians 5: 11-13).

Spiritual Help with Addiction
Thankfully, there is hope for even the most depraved and hopeless person.  Although the Scriptures above sternly condemn sexual immorality of any sort as sin, we also find reason for hope.  Immediately following his stern warning in 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 (see above), Paul writes these wonderful words of hope for restoration in the power of Christ (emphasis mine):  And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6: 11).  Paul is saying some of you were fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, etc. but through repentance and faith in Christ, you were washed, set apart, and given right standing before a Holy God, just as if you had never sinned!  Amazing grace of God!

For the producer and peddler of pornography of any kind; or for the person addicted to pornography, there is help spiritually.  Christ died for all mankind on a Roman Cross to pay the penalty for human sin which is death (Romans 6: 23).  The “Good News,” or “the Gospel,” is the power of God for salvation for all who believe as we noted above.  The Gospel is summarized in an outline called “Steps to Peace with God” which explains God’s love, our predicament (sin and separation from God), what Jesus has done to address our predicament, and what you can do by faith to receive God’s righteousness (right standing with a Holy God). When you are “born again” through the power of God’s Spirit, you will be able to seek additional help in the Bible and through counsel from experienced believers who can assist you with your addiction and other sin that has defeated you.

Online websites that provide resources to assist with addiction to pornography include Focus on the Family, Pure Life Ministries (Help for Addiction to Pornography in Women), and Josh McDowell Ministry.

For those of us who, by God’s grace, have been spared of sexual addictions and immorality, we must recognize that we face a spiritual battle to live pure lives.  The temptation to rebel against God’s goodness and moral boundaries remains a challenge to all human beings, Christ-followers included.  As a YouVersion Bible reading plan, “Guardrails: Avoiding Regrets in Your Life,” states, God’s guardrail for our sexuality should keep us from doing anything that’s not what is best for the other person. Will it make them feel shame? Will it become a secret they carry for the rest of their life? Will it undermine their future relationships?” If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” then, as Paul says in in 1 Corinthians 6: 18-20, "flee."

As Christ-followers, we must nurture our children and grandchildren in biblical Christianity at home, through a Bible-preaching church, and by being vigilant about who our children are spending time with when they are not in our care, both friends and adult supervisors.  I would also recommend an excellent message by our pastor at West Hill Baptist Church, Pastor Zach Swift.  This message is third in his series, “Do You Surrender,” on the authority of God’s Word, and it is entitled “Morality.”  His message is a great resource for individual and family discussions of God’s “guardrails” to protect us, our marriages, and our families. 

Calling for Legislative and Legal Action
Finally, for those who have been challenged to act on behalf of the helpless children who fall victim to child sexual abuse, trafficking, and exploitation, please contact your U.S. Senators, Congressmen/women, and state and local officials.  There is clearly need for Congress and other levels of government to act on behalf of the powerless.  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has resources although they need more financial support and technical tools.  As we contact those in authority over us, we ought to pray for them that they will avoid temptation as they deal with the sin and corruption of our world.  We ought to grieve with law enforcement personnel as they regularly face human depravity to preserve law and order (Matthew 5: 4).