It's Not Always Great, But Sometimes It's Pretty Good

“Are things ever going to get better?”

That’s a question all of us ask from time to time, and without fail we wish the answer was, “Yes.” Unfortunately, life rarely works out that way. A good maxim to live by would be EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED.

There are indeed some very difficult passages through which we must occasionally journey, but then, there are some pretty amazing passages, too.

The last several months have been difficult on a number of fronts, and when I am tempted to ask what could possibly be next, I invariably find out. For instance, I’ve been under the weather now, with a couple of different maladies, for over a week (hence the delay in cranking out another blog entry!), as well as several times over the recent past, and I wonder if I’m ever going to get over whatever is “going around.”

I have seen the loss of many people close to me, those whom I have pastored, members of my own family. Today I was present at the passing of yet another, both a church member as well as a great-uncle. His home-going was easy; one moment he was here with us – the next he was looking into the face of the Lord. The night before he passed, his daughter-in-law heard him ask my great-aunt if she wanted, “…an old house or a new house,” commenting that he was getting ready to have a new house.

He truly is enjoying that new house now. But not everything is sad or painful.

I always had ideas about what I would experience through life, but being an only child, I never thought I would get to be an uncle. That changed when my brother-in-law and his fiancée welcomed little Madilyn into the world this past December.

I don’t exactly know why, but I really, really enjoy the idea that I am an uncle. Perhaps it was the fun I had with one of my own uncles that makes me think of the fun she and I can have together. Stupid jokes, talking dogs, public embarrassment, I’m looking forward to it all. My son enjoys having a baby cousin, as you can see, and as I look into their faces, I realize how truly wondrous life is.


Sure, there are a lot of negative things, a lot of pain to go through. But in missing the bad, we miss the glorious. Without those moments when we don’t know how we’ll make it, we would never be able to see and appreciate the sufficient, sustaining grace of God. While I don’t enjoy the bad times in life, I wouldn’t trade it for the world, because the good times in life are more than worth it.

If you’re hurting right now, ask the Lord to show you all the blessings in your life, and ask Him to pour out His grace upon you, so that you can enjoy those good times even more. And, when you think about what awaits God’s children once this life is over, it just doesn’t get any better.

© 2006, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.

Supernovas, Emission Nebulae and Molecular Clouds . . .Oh, My!

I’m one of those people who really enjoy watching the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, the Science Channel; well, you get the idea. Anyway, I am always amazed at those shows exploring the solar system and the universe.

There are some people out there who believe that Christianity (and to some degree, any major religion) is merely a crutch for the “Intellectually Challenged,” that any logical person would see past the futility and foolishness of the God idea. Some of these people will say, “You’ve seen the science, you’ve looked at the complexity of the universe. How can you believe in God?”

Well, for me, that complexity, that grandeur, further solidifies my own faith in God, not diminishing it in the least. For me, when I watch shows like this, when I contemplate the universe, and the science involved in “understanding” it, I think to myself, “I knew my God was big, but WOW!”

The entire concept of everything accidentally happening, that all things just happened to work out perfectly to create life, that gradual change and development has created the myriad species existing today, is ludicrous to me. While it might not be a brilliant intellectual exercise, or not well written, allow me to explain. I recently watched a program on Earth’s moon, and frankly, I was astounded at some of the things that were proposed by the show and the scientists involved in it. Here is the overall synopsis, as closely as I can remember it:

A few billion years ago, a planet smaller than Earth but larger than the moon collided with the Earth, just perfectly enough not to totally destroy either. Parts of the Earth and this smaller planet were blown off and accreted (fused together) to form a moon, perfectly designed to compliment the Earth. This moon we see in our sky perfectly regulates our planet’s orbit and rotation and tides, perfectly lies between us and the sun, perfectly hiding the much larger sun during an eclipse. Every four weeks, without fail, the moon’s phases perfectly come and go. Scientists tell us that the moon is slowly getting further and further away from Earth, at the rate of about an inch a year. And, perhaps most stunning of everything, all of this takes place at exactly the right distance from the sun to keep life going strong: not too close, not too far, for a planet that has absolutely everything to ensure our existence.

Seems a bit too ordered for me to believe it is all random. In fact, I would have to have much more faith than I do right now to believe that.

I believe we should try to understand the world around us. I think we should expand on the knowledge we have gained in the past so we can improve our future. But where my view and the majority of scientific and worldly views differ is this: I don’t believe this quest for knowledge should try to destroy our belief in God, but rather, reinforce it.

I think there are many things in this life, in this world, that cannot be explained. But a lack of explanation (or the presence of a “scientific” explanation) should not stand as evidence disproving God.

The Lord has allowed us to live in an extraordinary time. Never before in history have we had so many opportunities, so many wonderful pieces of technology, so much medical knowledge. If He permits, we will continue to advance. But as we advance scientifically, technologically, socially, let us not allow the natural tendency to marginalize God take hold in us. More knowledge does not mean less God. The two, human intelligence and the Divine, are not at odds with each other. They should compliment and reinforce one another.

If Christianity is a crutch, so be it. I know I, for one, could not take a step without Jesus within me, giving me the strength. He has given me what intelligence I have. How can I betray that gift by denying the One who bestowed it upon me? Jesus is more than a crutch to me; He is the One who gives me the strength to stand and walk what little I can on my own.

I need Him. To me, nothing has meaning without Him, and this universe would be a pretty lonely place if He weren’t here. All of those awe-inspiring pictures of the universe, of distant galaxies and planetary nebulae and the great unknown, say to me simply one thing . . .

What a mighty God we serve!

© 2006, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.

A Better Way Than the "Normal"

Romans 14:19 – Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

Aren’t you tired of all the negative floating around out there? It seems that no matter where we turn for relief or respite, negativity finds us. It has been many years since our nation has been so divided. Political parties seem to be the worst these days, most politicians no longer working to better the country, but to besmirch and beat “the other guy.”

Our jobs, our homes, everywhere we look we see strife. And unfortunately, this kind of strife has worked its way into the very fabric of our spiritual lives, into our churches. For generations, members of the same Christian family have looked upon different denominations and congregations as inferior, in the wrong, a blemish on God’s true church. And it is not only limited to the larger scale; we find this strife much closer.

In the game of “He Said-She Said,” of striving to win (whatever that means), the thoughts, consideration and feelings of others take a back seat, sitting along side “doing what’s right,” in a vehicle bound for nowhere any of us would want to be.

At times, most of us forget that we are here to do the right thing, not the easy thing. It is easy to give in, to fight, to tear down. But God, in His Word, tells us what we are to do in this life. We must chase after those things that foster peace in and among us, to find those things that edify, or build up, the spiritual strength of one another.

Strife, animosity and anger destroy the person having these feelings, damage the recipient of those feelings, hurt the testimony and spiritual growth of the entire congregation, and diminish the effectiveness of the Lord’s Church. Does it seem worth it?

It most certainly takes hard work and determination to forgive, to set your heart on Godly things, on what He is pleased with, on what is right. Right is not always easy to do, but it is what God expects of His children. The only way to be able to do the right thing is concentration and patience. You must continually concentrate on the right thing, making the decision not to give into anything else, and practice it at all times, so that it gets easier.

This is not to say that pursuing the things that make for peace and that edify one another will someday become the easiest thing in the world. What it does mean is that you learn how to do it effectively, and you are more likely to avoid saying or doing things you will later regret. It is a lot like losing weight. If you’re on a diet and weigh yourself three times a day, you will soon get discouraged because you don’t see much progress. But if you weigh yourself once a month, the results are dramatic.

As you begin focusing on and practicing the things of peace and edification, you might find it extremely difficult and not see much progress, but slowly and surely, the more you practice it, the more progress and success you will see.

We need to flee from those things that tear down and destroy peace, because they are killing us emotionally and spiritually, on so many levels. The world, our churches, our homes, are in desperate need of building up, of a sense of the peace God has promised His children. What decision will we make? What will be our legacy? When people think of or remember us, will they recall a Godly person who strove to seek peace and build up others, or someone who tore apart the hearts and lives of others, and was less than peaceful?

There is more at stake than just you and me. The integrity of God’s church, the appeal of the Christian testimony, and the success of the Lord’s kingdom are also determined by our faithfulness to this commission to pursue the things of peace and edification. Life is too precious and too short to do pursue anything else, and when it comes to peace and edification, it is a worthy, wonderful pursuit.

© 2006, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.