Real World and Perception

[As some people know, my wife and I are expecting a son on June 5. He is large and the doctor wants to induce a bit early. We are tentatively looking at June 1. My other son is graduating from eighth grade this Thursday. All that to say, life is pretty full right now and it will obviously impact the blogging life at some point. I am not quitting, but I am may less regular in the coming month. I am deeply greatful that anyone cares about my thoughts.]
Last Thursday a screw came loose from the automatic door return on the woman's bathroom door. The heavy mechanism began to pry loose and I had remove it. So now, the door is much easier to open, but it no longer closes on its own. A parishioner came up to me this morning and asked what had happened to the door. "Usually you have to pull it so hard," she explained, "that when I opened it this morning I almost hit myself in the face."

I think this illustrates one of the problems of life. The real world we live in is not the same as the world we "think" we are in. This young lady thought that her world included a heavy bathroom door. It no longer does. The gap between our "belief" (or expectation, or assumption, or whatever term best describes it) and reality is the cause of all number of situations; some pleasant, some unpleasant, all surprises. The world and God are bigger than our minds can fathom.

Last night at prayer group we began to discuss the role of God in healing. There are apparently "natural" spiritual connections to health. Discussions about mind-body are not limited to Christianity. Imagination work impacts physical health. People's expectations impact efficacy (hence the placebo effect). The world is more complex than the simplistic world of the Athiestic Materialist. But Christian faith teaches that the world is more complex than Christians understand, too.

I know that I know a great deal. I also know that the great deal I know is dwarfed by all that I do not know (or understand). I know that I am accurate, or "right" about very much. The problem is there is so much I am "wrong" about. I just do not know what I am wrong about sometimes, so I remain in error.

God has made a world where truth and error co-exist. Error is the result of demonic and human choice. We were given power and abused the power to mess things up. Some day, we are told, He will come to reign. At that point all will be well. Because this promise is sure, we can live in joy and hope today, knowing that SOME DAY it will happen. But we cannot afford to forget that, in the meantime, we must live with humility. We are learning and discovering now. It is helpful to remember that we do not have all the answers. It keeps us on our toes and prepares us for life's surprises.