God's gifts

"Man, by the Fall, fell at the same time from his state of innocence and from his dominion over nature. Both of these losses, however, can even in this life, be in some part repaired; the former by religion and faith, the latter by the arts and sciences." - Sir Francis Bacon

"These are the days of miracle and wonder..." - Paul Simon

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Yes, there are times that the natural world outflanks us (Covid-19 anyone?). That is our lot this side of heaven. Yet God has given us great gifts through the arts and sciences to, in some part, restore our dominion over nature:
  • My children have never feared getting polio.
  • One of my son's friends has the heart of another person beating inside of them.
  • Drone ships in the middle of the ocean catch nosecones of rockets in big nets when returning (!) to the earth, and serve as landing pads for spent stages of the same.
  • Autonomous robots deliver packages to people.
  • Fossil fuel consumption is not needed to power world-class automobiles.
  • Uninhabitable places are now inhabitable.
  • Animals can be cloned.
  • Organs and bones can be grown and used in men and women without fear of rejection.
  • My location can be tracked anywhere on the planet within 300 feet.
  • Planets in solar systems far from ours can be detected through the gravitational force applied to the star they orbit or by the dimming of the same as it is eclipsed.
  • Travel from one side of the US to the other can be accomplished in three hours.
  • Seawater is transformed into potable water.
  • Atoms are smashed into each other to see what happens and what is thrown off.
The gift of faith that God has offered to us is even more startling:
  • Hearts are changed from love of self to love of God and others
  • Sin that has doomed us to a life separated from God and others has been wiped out restoring the relationship and relationships that were broken
  • Prejudice vanishes in loving community
  • Prayer, certainty, and hope replace worry, doubt, and despair
  • Vengeance is placed into the hands of the God of truth and justice
  • Humility smashes through pride as people are served rather than used
  • Dead people, walking corpses, are transformed and alive
  • Order is revealed through the fog of chaos 
These are, indeed, the days of miracle and wonder, or, rather Miracle and Wonder for these have a name. I serve a loving, generous, good God. Who can but marvel at his watchcare over me?

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