One of my favorite toys on the playground as a kid was the seesaw. Two children, about the same weight, could have endless fun going up and down, up and down. That is until one of the more agile boys perfected a naughty trick: bailing off the seat when it was near the ground. The other kid came crashing down of course, and it was quite a blow to the “bohonkus.” Thus the allure. Once some other mischievous boys caught on (I was one of them), nobody wanted to teeter-totter anymore.
Frankly, I’m a bit bored by the wall-to-wall, “2020 has been such a strange year!” posts. Duh! Tell me something I don’t know, and, while you’re at it, could you please make it part of a compelling story?🙃
Seriously though, it does feel like something bailed off the seat of this calendar year, causing all of us to drop like rocks, and it’s worth talking about.
Searching for biblical applications also sounds like a good idea. My “bohonkus” hurts!
“We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.” 2 Corintians 4:8-9 (GNT)
There must have been seesaws in the first century AD, because Paul absolutely nails how it feels after a free fall. It’s a blow to one’s pride and overall sense of well being after a sudden physical impact.
In other words, this &!#$ pandemic!
Remember those little egg-shaped toys that came out in the 70’s called Weebles? They were weighted at the bottom in such a way that gravity always made them stand back up–no matter how hard you flinked them.
“Weebles” by unloveablesteve is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
“Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.”
Here’s the physics teacher explanation: “Tipping an egg-shaped weeble causes a weight located at the bottom center to be lifted off the ground. Once released, gravity brings the weeble back into an upright position. Essentially, there is only one way in which a weeble can achieve mechanical equilibrium.” Source, Wikipedia.
Mechanical equilibrium. I’d like some more of that, please.
“If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm. Though he stumbles, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV)
Thank God, all of His children are “weighted” in such a way that, though we may wobble, we don’t fall down!
God’s “gravity” works in the spiritual realm, as well as the physical. Just like He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Gen. 1:3), the light of Christ shines in our hearts and keeps standing us upright (2 Corinthians 4:6).
There’s just one caveat: we can’t take credit for any of it.
“Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 (GNT)
Weebles may not fall down, but they aren’t indestructible. I’m an eyewitness to the fact that they can be crushed by the family station wagon.😳
“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing”
Jesus — John 6:63 (NIV)
One hundred years from now we’ll all be dead, and the surreal events of 2020 reduced to a footnote. Sure, there will still be Chambers on the Road, but the rest of us will be but fading blips on the blogosphere.
Only the eternal is REALLY real.
“For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 (GNT)
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