Two extracts from my very first column read: “The phrase reasonable and probable grounds to believe meant that if you (as a police officer) provided the investigational information you had acquired, say to four or five ordinary people, and sat them down and had them discuss the whys and wherefores of your information, then after a reasonable time of pondering the matter, they too would conclude like you, that reasonable and probable grounds were present to believe that the person was responsible for committing the offence.”

And that, “One does not need proof to have faith. To those of faith, the need of so-called facts to support their belief may well be looked on as shallow and irrelevant, not to mention irreverent, and that a claim can justifiably be made it is religiously improper to attempt to explain faith by rational argument. Perhaps the most scientific proof there is a God comes from the simple fact that so many people believe that indeed there is a God. In essence then, for me to embark on a ‘reasonable and probable grounds’ approach to believe there is a God flies in the face of our common senses. Nevertheless, I shall try and sally forth.”

This was a tough case. I’ve delved into various topics: including our patterns of behaviour; examining how we believe or do not believe; our struggles with faith; a focus on scripture; believing and doubting; our religious variance; a relationship with God; our sense of values; spiritual intelligence; challenging the status quo; and to live and to die. And yes indeed, at the end I became convinced (all over again) that reasonable and probable grounds exist to believe there is a God.

Writing columns for Anglican Life has been a pleasure. I thank all those readers who have offered their many generous comments of appreciation and support. And a big thank you to Emily Rowe, the Editor, whose skillful ways of making all complicated matters look easy, along with her generosity in providing special dispensation in meeting certain guidelines, is all very much appreciated.

…May the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of peace be with you all your days!

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The spread of monasticism, inspired by St. Antony of Egypt (c.251-356), had a strong impact on the Church. The monks were men who left their worldly routine to seek God in the silence and seclusion of the desert. Through thinking and reasoning, they were free to worship God directly. By the year 390, some fifty thousand monks would congregate to celebrate Easter. Monasticism with its practices of prayer, and ponderance in solitude with God, had popular appeal and a strong influence on the development of the Christian Church.

The efforts of reformers who objected to the doctrines, rituals, leadership, and ecclesiastical structure of the Church in Rome, especially Martin Luther’s publications in 1517, led to the creation of new national Protestant churches. And within these reforms there was to be a marked separation of the heavenly and earthly kingdoms, and a new hierarchy of authorities would commence with scripture, followed with conscience, reason, and tradition. And that henceforth, neither kings nor popes were to stipulate what people should or should not believe

The highest scriptural authority for Christians comes from the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. The Bible is seen as evidence, witness, and testimony that represents our theological underpinnings, and down through the ages Christians have learned theology from the Bible, and from the traditions and experiences of the Church.

Tradition is a preserving power, and it aids us in formulating truths of the past that help us make decisions for the future. However, human interpretation is always on the march, and we are continually required to update our levels of thinking and appreciation as it pertains to the past. God—the Spirit of God—is constantly responding to our changing circumstances.

What is involved in believing, and how do religious beliefs relate to other parts of our life? In particular, what do we experience and feel, what do we do, and who are we? Honest answers to such questions require, amongst other things, activation of our humility, being humble, being candid, and being sincere. We know the importance of being able to listen to others, and often contemplative listening is a necessary ingredient to a fuller understanding. Sometimes it’s revealing too to listen to our own answers and examine their honesty.

Collectively as Christians, we make up a considerable mix—an overlapping of fundamentalists, conservatives, liberals, and so on. Faith includes goodwill, and ideally the pursuit of an acceptable balance between those Church organizations steeped in rigidity of practices, and those at the other end of the spectrum where freedom reigns. We are so quick and efficient in accenting our differences but not so much on celebrating the many practices we already have in common.

We ponder the pleasant thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all get along together?” It’s easier said than done, for sure! But we have a responsibility to be open, supportive, and embracive to people of other churches, and we should continue to stretch our own levels of tolerance and acceptance. “…all things are possible with God.”

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At a period when we are experiencing an onslaught of emotional and psychological wellbeing issues, there’s a substantial and growing demand for health services, counselling, and therapy, to respond to these emerging needs. It seems as though we’re living in a time when many, many people no longer feel grounded and are looking for a deeper purpose in living out their lives. 

It’s common for many individuals wrestling with their spirituality to not have had a faith based living experience. One is mindful of the diminishment, and in many instances the outright loss, of religious practices. And that, mostly, younger generations no longer attend church worship of any kind. And even fewer ponder at all “What the Almighty can do!” Hence a fallout of the very foundation on which the promises of God, the benefits of hopes and prayers, and the psychological comforts and security that many folks of yesteryear accepted and took for granted as serious props in their lives. One has to assume that, for many, the absence of faith based living has its consequences, and can leave one feeling rudderless and adrift. 

Much of the current day lament that manifests itself in emotional upheaval and a lack of psychological wellbeing is grounded in individuals experiencing a sense of loss, and being faced with feelings of having no purpose in life. Life’s changing times, with all its new challenges, is an ongoing realty. We are required to adjust and get on with the business of living. Of course, most of us do just that. However, the current predominance of despair, and sense of unease that’s continuing to increase, particularly amongst our younger generations, is a cause of concern. Our collective challenge is to build up—to build up others, to build up ourselves, and to build up the communities in which we live. 

To separate spiritual intelligence from the Holy Spirit, we go to the Apostle Paul who writes in 1 Corinthians, 2: 11-12, “For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.” 

And then in 2: 14-15, “Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them …Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.” 

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In a free and open democracy, citizens are entitled to effective and efficient service delivery from public institutions. As well, effective internal controls and monitoring are required in ensuring our laws and regulations are adhered to. And in the workplace, unless we all strive for truth, justice, and righteousness then it’s difficult to be able to deliver effective and efficient public services. 

In earlier days as a member of the RCMP, stationed in Ottawa, I was director general of the RCMP’s audit & evaluation directorate. For senior RCMP commanders geographically positioned in the provinces and territories, to just have a proper attitude towards accountability was deemed not sufficient. It required them to have a technical structure for audits and performance evaluations that was organizationally sound, with appropriate timelines for delivery of reports. These reports would in turn be subject to oversight control by the Commissioner, and subsequently to the office of the auditor general of Canada. 

Accountability processes at the various governmental levels (i.e., federal, provincial, and municipal) are too often not demanded by internal governing bodies that are responsible for doing so.  And those who are accountable often rely too heavily on subordinates to ensure that accountability processes are in place. Such behaviour can sometimes be deliberate and serve as a shield for one’s own accountability obligations. Also, such a distorted view of accountability easily creeps in when those entrusted with a responsibility begin to believe they should be exempted from public scrutiny, because their appointment implies they are already trusted. This is when ‘Trust but Verify’ kicks in. Good faith and noble disposition are not sufficient. Nobody in a government workplace should harbour the view that ‘I’m beyond having to render an account.’ 

The missing link all along has been the effective accountability for the use of authorities for which people have been entrusted. Nowadays more and more stress is placed on being result-oriented in a client-sensitive culture. The importance of effective accountability is going to become correspondingly greater, and each manager will be expected to have an agreed statement of anticipated results and performance standards. 

The Apostle Paul, in both his Letters to the Corinthians and Ephesians, writes on the requirement of building each other up, premised on the importance of edification over gratification, meaning others over self; freedom over legalism; and respect over condemnation. And in the workplace, one needs to determine not only if it’s lawful, but is it beneficial and does it build up? Does it build you up, and others up, for the overall good of the community? To strive to do better, to become a better person, rather than just striving to become the best. 

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Our soul, intertwined with our mind, is an ever-present source of uncertainty. Amongst Christian believers many hold that divine and human wills act simultaneously. But the process of these interactions is a mystery that cannot be unravelled through intellection. And for those of us who ponder an afterlife, even amongst the most devout believers, there’s wonderment and uncertainty as to what shape and form an afterlife would take. Perhaps not surprisingly, scriptures have little to say on afterlife specifics. Just how would one go about explaining a supernatural setting to those of us already experiencing the many uncertainties and unknowns of our natural world, the world in which we live?

As with other important matters, some of us give it a lot of thought while others not so much. The struggle in deciding just where we want to be, presents us with choices and challenges. We are always searching for new information, new evidence, to prop up what we already believe. It is as though we need to keep piling on new sources and new findings to sustain our beliefs. Over a lifetime, and it really doesn’t matter how far along life’s journey we are, whether we are young or old, repeated reinforcement of our own rationale results in the further positioning of our view. 

When someone close to us, be it a friend or loved one, offers up differing opinions, it sometimes becomes necessary to defend our own well-established position. In the main, we are unable to easily change our minds, especially on important matters that we’ve developed over time. Why is this? Life’s ever-changing scene and our mind’s handling of the steady onslaught of uncertainties experienced in everyday living, cause us to routinely fortify our delicate array of personal views. If we become efficient at suppressing personal doubts then it may become too easy to over-do it and cut off our critical thinking path. The more fortified our personal view becomes and the closer we arrive toward a sense of certainty, the more comfortable and established our thinking becomes. And if and when we become too relaxed in certitude, then that can become a dangerous place, especially when we conclude beyond a shadow of a doubt that “that’s it.” In such a mindset, we can easily fall victim to “being often in error but never in doubt.” 

For whatever reason, we are so configured that our thinking process is a constant activity, forever trying to get us to a level of acceptance and comfort. Our comfort levels or peace of mind often vary, and that level of variance may well increase or decrease our level of thinking. If we arrive at too high a comfort level, then we may prematurely shut down and jeopardise our very own thinking machine. On the other hand, if we run our thinking machine full tilt and don’t slow down to relax and refresh, we run the risk of over-heating and overdoing it. Either direction has its pitfalls. An abundance of self-awareness, the ability to ponder without jumping to absolutes, help us to keep it all at an acceptable balance. But it ain’t easy! 

Finally, for those of us who believe in the power of prayer and acknowledging what God can do, know that it surpasses all of our frail worldly attempts, in understanding life’s many unknowns. Pondering anew what the Almighty can do, provides us the opportunity to further understand and comprehend all those things we do not know. 

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A pleasant duty as commander of the RCMP Academy in Regina was conducting final briefings for graduating cadets. Somewhere spliced into every session, I would focus on our primary “raison d’être”—the protection of life, limb, and property, and the discharge of these duties without fear, favour, or affection. Cadets, being mindful of their looming policing duties in real life situations would frequently have questions surrounding fear, and on individual coping techniques. 

I would often premise my response from the words of an unknown author: “It’s not he/she who’s brave and has no fear, but he/she whose fearful heart is brave.” “Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead” are great lines for the movies, but reality requires us to assess the danger and the risks, and sensibly take a course of action that often requires a fearful heart. It’s accepted that in stressful situations where danger is present, responders will be fearful. Doing ordinary things under extraordinary circumstances underpins the importance of sound risk management, and fighting the good fight. There’s a line in that well known hymn, Stand Up! Stand Up for Jesus: “…where duty calls, or danger, be never wanting there.” It speaks to the need for courage. 

At an early age we get to know the difference between right and wrong. And being truthful takes on its proper meaning when we tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. It’s been rightly said that, “a truth that’s told with bad intent, beats all the lies you can invent.” In working with responders, honesty is by far the best policy, in handling serious and critical situations where danger is imminent. 

In the work place, we recognize our own established patterns of coping and attempts at coping, and in observing the behaviour of others. We note the differences in cool dudes, hot heads, and all those levels of competency and incompetency falling somewhere in between. I used to find myself pondering why some individuals can embrace heavy workloads and challenges while others find the load too heavy. The right balance of rest and exercise, be it mental or physical, is difficult to judge, and can not be generalized, as individual coping has its own technique and time table. 

Louis Armstrong’s line “… nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen…nobody knows but Jesus…” has popular appeal. Yet the belief that no one else knows of our troubles is not necessarily always the case. It’s just difficult to imagine that any of our individual troubles, in the total scheme of things, can really be new when we consider all those folks who have come and gone before us. It’s perhaps more understandable to think of life’s troubles as old things happening to new people. 

William Wordsworth’s line, “In that sweet mood, when pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts to the mind,” is a bit of a puzzle. Why indeed, should pleasant thoughts lend themselves to sad thoughts? Could it be nature’s way of looking after us by not letting us get lulled into complacency? Nature doesn’t always spring to the forefront with such help. Excessive self-indulgence—self-centredness as opposed to being compassionate and caring and showing concern for the wellbeing of others—is a shortcoming that too often befalls many of us. That same self-indulgence and self-centredness can sometimes take us down a lonely, slippery slope, “to that sweet slow descent into self-pity,” wherein we seek false comfort by emotionally feeding off our own misery. 

Our mind, when it experiences mental trauma, often needs time to rest, to cope, and to re-adjust in the healing process. Somewhat like a physical injury of a knee, we need a combination of rest and exercise. And if we strap-up and immobilize the knee too rigidly, without regard to a proper balance of rest and exercise, then healing can easily be hampered rather than helped. Likewise, if we resort too quickly to drugging our minds, it can deprive our natural coping processes. Our individual thresholds on coping with mental trauma or physical pain, vary. And in many cases, it’s perhaps a good practice to stretch ourselves a bit, before resorting to unnatural remedy such as over strapping-up the mind or over strapping-up the knee. 

So then, coping with the stresses and strains of life, when you really get down to the nitty-gritty of it, is an ongoing struggle. Each day brings a new opportunity to fight the good fight, and hopefully the courage and will to persevere. Our daily challenge, with God’s help, is to seek and strive to find that reasonable, albeit elusive balance. 

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Last-minute things were loaded in the boat at Sandy Cove wharf. Big Bight was over 7 miles away, and for the one-hour plus trip we all huddled together, in the open boat under warm blankets. We had lots of figgy buns and jam breads to eat along the way. As we were approaching Big Bight, we could see in the distance the roof of the log cabin. We were only minutes away from our new winter home away from home. The cabin was located on a heavily treed plateau, close to a small brook that trickled down to the shoreline. We soon adjusted to our new surroundings and came to realise we were snuggled away in deep dense woods, well protected against the cold, and the coming snow storms and blustery winds of winter. 

My father used to cut logs with a bucksaw and axe. He along with his logging partner would start cutting together. And once they accumulated a good supply, and dependent on the coming of the snow, his partner would become a full-time teamster. Seeing big loads of logs on double bobsleighs, being hauled out to the shoreline, for springtime shipping, was a common sight. 

On those rare days when my father was logging close to the cabin, my mother would prepare a hot take-out meal, with lots for me too, and I would walk out the snowy woods road. On arrival, my father would already have a fire going, and would have thick layers of spruce boughs spread out on the snow. He and I would then sit by the crackling fire and have a big feed. Those were the days, eh? 

My father’s job was back-breaking, bone-tiring work. After cutting the logs he would often have to drag or lug some of them to the horse trail. His relentless sawing and chopping and dragging and lugging, allowed for few breaks. Toiling in often cold and blustery weather of swirling wind and snow, attested to his strong will and perseverance. 

My mother was always busy too. With a family and a log cabin to look after, she did it all in an easy and cheerful manner, and had a marvellous way of coping with the highs and lows of everyday living. Whenever any of life’s troubling clouds appeared on the horizon, her no fuss, self-confident way, assured us that everything was going to be alright. 

To us the long winter months were really short winter months. Although we were shut off from the outside world, there was no sense or awareness of being isolated. As for my take on it all—the big outdoors country right at our door contrasted wonderfully with the warmth and cosiness of our log cabin home. Everything seemed just right. 

On cold wintery starry nights, along with everything surrounded by deep dark woods, combined to make it our personal winter wonderland. Excitement seemed to be always in the air. My mother and father were in their thirties, and young and filled with life were we. 

God was very much a presence in our lives at the cabin. Every night under the watchful eye of my mother, we would dutifully kneel by our respective beds and say our prayers out loud. God’s spiritual presence was a reality in all we did, and that his blessings kept us all safe. 

On our return to Sandy Cove in early spring, political changes were blowin’ in the wind. Canada joined Newfoundland in 1949! Word came forth that to qualify for Family Allowance Benefits (money) children of school age would have to attend school, full time. Henceforth, the long practice of many Eastport Peninsula fishermen who plied the Labrador Sea, cod fishery in summer, and complemented their income in winter by working Up-the-Bay along with their families, came to an abrupt end. Progress, eh? 

As we approach Christmas in the here and now of 2023, may the Spirit of God, the Spirit of peace be with you all your days. 

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While wisdom’s roots, as an approach to life and how one looked at the world go well back into ancient Jewish history, wisdom writing increased in the latter part of the Old Testament. There is a prevailing view that because of the Exile (Babylonian captivity of the Jews, 597 – 538 BCE, and in particular the post-exilic period or the “Second Temple” years (516 BCE – 70 CE), the Israelites had become bewildered and confused in their relationship with God. For the first time they were coming to grips with accepting a God who embraced not just a chosen few on a single parcel of land, but a God of the universe, responsible for all 

The wisdom tradition stressed looking at the world in a practical sense, yet always being mindful of God’s creation. The new challenge was to seek more understanding of the natural world through self-examination, through observation of life, drawing on logical conclusions, and to engage in personal reflection rather than solely depending on direct revelations from God. 

Proverbs is the oldest of the wisdom books, a compilation of wise sayings, moral and religious teachings. It is wisdom distilled in short, sharp phrases. It not only deals with religious matters but also with good manners and common sense; focusing on advice to young men, warnings against adultery, and the rewards of wisdom. 

The book of Job is the story of a good man who suffers total disaster in losing all his children and property, and is afflicted with a repulsive disease. In the midst of unbearable agony and pain he is visited by three friends. The first is Eliphaz, who claims God has spoken to him, saying that if people suffer, they must have done something wrong. He chastises Job for speaking out, and questioning God’s judgment, and says “Happy is the person whom God corrects! Do not resent it when he rebukes you.” Job 5:17. 

The second friend is Bildad, who offers similar advice, that calamity is judgment on the sin of an individual. Job rejects the advice of both and says “Honest words are convincing, but you are talking nonsense.” Job 6:25. The third friend to speak is Zophar. He sets out the principles which Job should consider. Job is not impressed. Other speeches follow reiterating similar points, and wanting Job to deny his integrity and admit his faults, but Job refuses to perjure himself. In Job’s final statement, despite his deep sense of hopelessness and despair, he does not give up on God, and states “Let God weigh me on honest scales and he will see how innocent I am.” Job 13:6. 

God appears out of a storm and speaks to Job. God asks “Who are you to question my wisdom with your ignorant, empty words?” Job 38:2. And God does not answer Job’s questions, but renders an extensive overview of the grand level of his role and responsibilities. Job is very impressed by the magnitude, awe and wonder, of God’s creation. As he listens to God, Job finds his opinion of himself diminishing and his understanding and appreciation of God, expanding. 

God was pleased with Job’s new understanding, and steadfast integrity, but was displeased with the misleading arguments of Job’s three friends. Job’s position was that of an honest search for truth, but his three friends would not allow for truth to be bigger than their understanding of it, so they were guilty in misrepresenting God. At the end, Job prayed for his three friends, and God made Job prosperous and gave him twice as much as he had before. Job died at a very great age. (Job 42:10, 16) 

The book of Ecclesiastes has many direct wisdom statements with most dealing with basic issues of life. It gets underway with a bleak outlook on the way we see things in ordinary life. Chapter 1, dwells on life being useless, the emptiness and futility of life—that you spend a lifetime working, labouring, and what do you have to show for it? 

Chapter 3, with its “A time for Everything” statements, is premised with “Everything that happens in this world, happens at the time God chooses. There is a time for birth and a time for death; a time for sorrow and a time for joy;” and so on. And on injustice in the world “…I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well.” (Eccl 3:16) 

In conclusion, Wisdom Literature delves into life’s everyday problems and is deeply rooted in human behaviour. Its applicability is ageless, and its relevance is as powerful today as in ancient history. The writings dwell on the power of wisdom in coping and dealing with the inequities of life, the agony of suffering, and the finality of death. It reflects a new creation theology, and it is no accident that the ideas of wisdom literature become linked to the indwelling spirt of God.

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In a relationship that flames out or becomes cold, we can sometimes find ways to resolve the problems that lead to the break-down and re-establish the trust that seemingly has become lost. However, with God perhaps the biggest obstacle is first establishing a relationship, let alone getting that relationship back. A relationship with God, as with people, tends to grow and improve gradually. It most always takes time, lots of time. One has to strive and seek to find God’s awareness and presence. You certainly do not get to know God by grabbing him or her by the arm and saying, “Let’s be friends.” It is a personal journey, from deep within, where one has to find his or her own way. 

Relationships are often difficult with those in our natural world let alone trying to hook up with someone of the supernatural. For many it’s too difficult to even try. The beginning of a relationship with God has to be based on one’s faith and belief, first and foremost that there is a God, and to have a growing desire to know God better. Getting to this level is perhaps the most critical of all. The process is not so much different from the early steps that we experience in getting a relationship underway with another person. Unlike a worldly relationship though, feedback from God may range from nuance to only the slightest possibility of any communication existing at all. It is during these early periods of wondering and doubting that so many of us just tire and drift away, as opposed to hanging in there and pursuing all possible avenues of getting to know someone. When you stop and think of it, just how a relationship with God could be anything but unimaginably complex. And requiring one to be dutifully patient and to pursue, even to the end of time. As temporary guests on this planet earth, none of us has all that much time. 

Those of us who believe we have a relationship with God have difficulty in articulating what it really is. It is more of a sense of something going on in your life, rather than something you can talk about or explain. But you know it exists and that you are on to something fundamental, and that that something is of solid importance in your life. In our own natural world with its daily complexities and complications, it is most difficult to articulate the meaning of a relationship with another person. The very moment we speak it can misrepresent just what we really feel, and that these very feelings may be even changing as we speak. 

Losing a relationship with God can have profound consequences. The loss of one’s faith can shake the very centre of our core, filling us with sadness, that can be likened to a lonely bird, perched on a lonely rock, by a lonely sea, engulfed in darkness and drear. Sadness lingers and a melancholy nakedness just grips us that will not let go. As with the loss of anything of great personal value – we must strive to get it back, and we are duty bound to arrive at a proper place of balance. It takes time to adjust to a loss, and we need to allow ourselves lots of it. As a faith-based model in coping with spiritual doubt, many of us aim to be neither too joyous or too sad, and as long as we can keep on thinking and allow ourselves time, the black cloud of doubt and uncertainty will lift and a silver lining will begin to appear. And we will find new avenues to explore and new challenges to embrace. By hanging on, we find that life is much like Ol’ Man River, “…he just keeps movin’ along.”

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The views of others can easily be shared and the sharing of such information can result in too many of us accepting everything at face value. It seems we instinctively strive to conform to the will of the many. Does our basic follow-the-herd-instinct sometimes unduly sway us into entertaining outlandish views? In our time, are we really better equipped to understand life’s age-old questions, with our ever-increasing communications, or are we simply sharing our levels of collective ignorance at a faster pace? And gathering too many encyclopedic collections of piffle and piddle? 

The matter of dying, and particularly the issue of life-after-death, is a puzzle to everyone who cares to give it much thought. Prior to scientific cosmology, many held the view that heaven was located in the sky—always above our heads—and hell in the ground—always below our feet. Nowadays, heaven very much remains a subject of awe and wonder, and is sometimes conceived of as the enjoyment of the full consciousness of God’s presence, in the here and now, that represents the fulfillment of God’s purpose for his creation. Hell is viewed as the self-exclusion from any of this. Of course, these are perennially debated issues, with very little clarity in sight. 

Dying is pretty straight forward and we all have to embrace the inevitability, sooner or later, of our own demise. In an earthly sense, death is simply going out of existence. When I think of my own death, I accept its inevitability similar to the way I would have accepted an unpleasant transfer whilst a member of the RCMP. While I would have unease whenever the high command ordered me to a new posting, especially to unfamiliar surroundings, the challenge was to accept the new duty and get on with it. And surprisingly, things always had a way of working out. I know, comparing dying to that of a transfer is a stretch, yet it represents the changing ways of life. I am reminded of that great line in the well-known Newfoundland song “Let me fish of Cape St. Mary’s” wherein it states “…let me be a man and take it / when my dory fails to make it…” What a great attitude, eh? And I believe as the person in the dory, that as we traverse this journey of life on earth, we become inclined to accept the natural state of earthly beings—to be born, to live, and to die. 

Now as for me, a well-established octogenarian, my most fearful thoughts on dying occurred away back in my early teens. Hearing such lines as “…even in blooming we die…” was so scary. And thankfully the march of time has a marvellous way of levelling off such fears, and death itself, is no longer such a big deal. The matter of how I die though is, and my preferred option (very few of us will have one) would be “dying with one’s boots on” perhaps the best of all. 

While we are very much alike in so many ways, yet we are so individually constructed to interpret the world around us as we feel it, hear it, and see it. And then to further compound things, many of us have eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear. For believers, without faith in God nothing makes sense—it’s as simple as that! And that there’s a prevailing belief that our lives are more than an ant-like quality of being activity oriented, where we just keep on going until we run out of heart beats. Fathoming-out our roles in how we relate to God transcends our common understanding. And one has to ponder the simple fact—if we were presented with an absolute certainty of God’s presence and power, would we really be able to cope with it, to handle it, and carry on in our day-to-day living anywhere near as naturally as we do? And should we not also ponder the thought that there may well be good reason, beyond our human comprehension, that requires us to have the limited understanding of God that we do?

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