Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, March 25, 2023

A couple of Septembers ago on a morning walk past our neighborhood park, I captured this dramatic shot. It brought to mind that the only reason this tree has grown this tall is that the light of the sun has bathed it season by season, through the wondrous process known as photosynthesis. At the end of this blog I provide a Wikipedia article on that topic, which goes into great detail, and also blandly but unconvincingly asserts that this intricate system came about by evolution.

The Bible uses light as a frequent metaphor, summarized by the three texts at the following link. Why not click on it, and then come back here for the photosynthesis link?

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/light

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis

Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, March 24, 2023

On a neighborhood walk a little over a week ago, Shelley spotted this dropped sandwich-corner and drew my attention to it. It wasn’t the only one—there were three other such corners on the sidewalk within a square yard of each other.

You know what must have happened, right? A little kid, munching through a sandwich whose contents look like peanut butter, reached the crust and stopped munching. It’s not like this is tough, wholesome bread, whose crusts might indeed be dentally intimidating. No, this looks like soft white bread. But to the child, there’s still something off-putting about the crust.

Did you shun crusts when you were that age? I have a vague early memory of doing so, though I rapidly came to love bread-and-butter-and-sugar so much that I soon forgot my prejudice and just started scarfing everything down.

This reminds me of an interesting couple of verses in Hebrews 5:

For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:13 – 14 NKJV)

As I mentioned, I no longer shun bread-crusts. In fact, the “heels” are often my favorite parts of the loaf. I’ve discovered the unsurpassable joys of tough, gnawable whole wheat or sourdough bread.

Hebrews is saying that infants prefer—and appropriately so—the softer, “beginnner’s” food. But most soon graduate to what their growing bodies needs.

Take a moment to chew on three Bible passages about spiritual maturity, at the link just below. (While you’re doing that, I’ll go see if Shelley will fix me a couple of pieces of toast!)

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/maturity

Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, March 23, 2023

In this view of the Grand Canyon, Arizona it looks like a mural painted in a museum. You can almost reach out and touch it. But the opposite rim is actually 12-13 miles away.

It makes me think of God’s universe and how much we don’t know.

However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:9,10

It is great that God does want us to know some things and we don’t have to be in the dark.

Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

If you’ve ever been on a road trip, one that travels over several borders and takes a week or more to reach your destination and/or starting point, I’m sure you can recall the adventure. If not, you can imagine the long hours in the car, the hundreds of miles on the road and the many stops along the way.

A few years ago, we had the opportunity to take one of these trips — starting in Washington, next was Oregon, then Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and then back home in Washington. I had two traveling companions in the vehicle, my wife and our dog. We knew the trip was going to be interesting but weren’t quite prepared for the heat. In Oregon it was over 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) and the temperature in the following states didn’t get any cooler. Besides the heat, there were plenty of other memorable experiences. Some good and some not so much. Either way, we journeyed together.

Life is like a road trip – you’re not sure of the exact experiences you will face, but you know you’ll need a good traveling companion. They will be able to help you along the way – pointing you in the right direction, keeping you safe, and just being with you to experience it all. God is our ultimate traveling companion. He is ALWAYS with us. He is ALWAYS steering us in the correct direction. He is ALWAYS wanting to be part of our experiences.

This image was taken during this particular road trip, on the way to the Palouse Falls, about an hour north of Walla Walla, WA. This image reminds me of life — it’s a long journey, and there are times we can’t see what’s up beyond the horizon. The good news — God knows exactly what’s ahead of us and as the best traveling companion, He is ready to lead us down the right path. Thank you, God!

Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Life as we know it demands death; that’s the ugly reality. Nature bears out this truth on a daily basis, but we have become so accustomed to it, we almost take it for granted without a second thought. For Adam, the jolt of seeing something die must have been horrific, but we’re somewhat selective in our reaction. We’re funny that way. Should it require the death of a bothersome insect, that’s all for the best. Death of a reptile, such as this Red-tailed Hawk consuming a Garter Snake, seems almost justified in some distorted way. But when we see the death of a warm-blooded creature, somehow we seem to instinctively cringe, as though something isn’t quite right.

We use Romans 6:23 in a spiritual sense, for that is the context in which it is given: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NIV) However the truth goes far beyond that, to the ugliness of death itself. Hebrews 9:22 continues this same line of thought: “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (NIV) I don’t pretend to understand that passage, but it’s there whether I understand it or not. I suspect part of my confusion comes about because I tend to blur the distinction between the Jewish sacrifices which were to point the believer to the love of a God who would offer His own Son as payment, and the pagan sacrifices which were given to appease an angry god.

But there is another difference that is even greater. That difference centers on the nature of the death itself. In all the examples we see, the motive centers upon the Darwinian idea of survival, whether that be consumption of another for food, or dominance of another for power. The one glaring exception is when the Lamb of God offered Himself for the redemption of another. Such selflessness is almost beyond our comprehension. Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that those who subscribe to a survival of the fittest mentality find this impossible to comprehend.

Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Cheryl Boardman
Monday, March 20, 2023

This old slab is from a 730 year old Douglas Fir. Imagine all the generations of people who came and went during the lifetime of this tree.

730 years seems like a long time but it’s really just a little blip in history.

It seems like we’ve been waiting a long time for Jesus to return but it’s an even smaller blip compared to eternity.

In the meantime, we can hold onto His promise:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be with me. You know the place where I am going.”
John 14:1-4 (NIV)

Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Russell Jurgensen
Friday, Sabbath and Sunday, March 17, 18  and 19, 2023

[Note from Pastor Maylan: I experienced an area-wide internet outage mid-week, which put me behind in posting blogs. Though Russell Jurgensen’s blog is normally on Thursday, I’m going to use his blog for this weekend. Thanks to all our bloggers who so faithfully submit their material each week! And our internet popped back up Friday afternoon!]

RUSSELL WRITES: On a late evening hike, we saw this mysterious bright cloud in the distance toward the Olympic mountains. The only thing we can figure is the light from Seattle was in the right place to light up the cloud bank. The bright star overhead is Jupiter. The lights on the ground are near Renton, and the black lines are power lines.

The Bible provides light and here is a passage I like.

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
1 John 5:13,14

The world can be pretty rough and dark, but when people follow the law of love, they can reflect the light of God to others.