April Fools (and every other month, too.)

April has come. Where did February and March go, I wonder? It's true what they say about time flying by with increasing speed as one ages.

This April 1st, I find myself pondering some of the foolish things we do as members of the human race. For instance...

We live our lives in a world full of intricate design and amazing beauty, and yet stick stubbornly to the notion that it is all here by chance, and man is truly the measure of all things. There is an interesting article here from a few weeks ago in the Washington Post that reviews Tim Keller's book entitled, Reasons to Believe. (Thanks to T.C. for pointing it out.)

We, as women, have been uniquely designed to carry and care for children, and it is a beautiful thing. But in our culture of death, we destroy whatever inconveniences us, causes us to bear the consequences of our actions, or seems to burden us. There is an excellent post at Radical Womanhood that describes one woman's journey from the culture of death to the world of life. And there is a disturbing article here that shows just how confused we have become, and how graspingly we seek to control our world so it conform to our desires. (Thanks to T.B., I guess, for a link to the disturbing article...)

We are so smug in our view of life and the world that we actually think it is our place to scoff at the misery of others (see this article from the LA Times on the disturbing notion of prison rape, and the resources here at Prison Fellowship). I had no idea that this was a matter of humor. I guess I live a very sheltered life... (thanks to JT for the links)

I could go on and on regarding our foolishness, which can be summed up in Psalm 14:1:

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.

But the good news is that there is a God who reaches down and grabs hold of us out of such a miserable estate. Psalm 73 sums it up very well. And I will leave you with that hope...

1Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
11And they say, "How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
12Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.

18Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.

23Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who isunfaithful to you.
28But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.