The thought occurred to me this morning that perhaps it was not so unusual after all that God chose to send His angels to tell the shepherds first of Jesus’ birth. After all, King David, Jesus’ ancestor and type in many ways, was a shepherd before he was anointed king. Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd, identifying Himself with those who care for a flock. And He came as the Lamb of God, the ultimate perfect Sheep from the flock.

“O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.” (Romans 11:33)

Taxonomy is the science of naming and grouping things; or, more formally, “orderly classification of plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships.” (Merriam-Webster Online). The author of the Times article, Carol Kaesuk Yoon, lamented the gradual disappearance of this science, saying that it “…is essential to understanding the living world, and our place in it.” Hmmmm…sounds like Genesis 1:19-20: “So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field.” (ESV). I’ve never really thought much about those verses, except maybe to wonder how long it took, and what language Adam used. After reading this article, it seems that there is something deeper going on.

I was fascinated by Yoon’s description of the universal nature of taxonomy, which she describes as being more than a 17th-century science –- instead, “when people across the globe were creating ordered groups and giving names to what lived around them, they…[appear] unconsciously to follow a set of unwritten rules.” Despite the inestimable variety of “folk taxonomies,” there is a global commonality to how we classify and describe the world around us. My immediate question is, why? How did this happen?

Yoon gives three concrete examples of such commonality; I’ll list them here, but won’t quote at length from the article – you should read the whole thing for yourself. Her examples are:
1) “People recognize the same basic categories repeatedly.” (e.g. fish, birds, trees, etc.)
2) “People consistently use two-word epithets to designate specific organisms within a larger group of organisms.” (e.g. grizzly bears)
3) “People will even concur on which exact words make the best names for particular organisms.”

Now, Yoon does not discuss how our descriptions of the world around us can be so universal, so common to all people groups from urban societies to jungle clans in Papua New Guinea – perhaps that is for the best. I’m not sure how someone with a non-Biblical worldview would explain this, but to me these facts point with a large, flashing arrow directly to the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9. Verse 1: “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.” Verse 9: “…there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.” The Bible provides a clear explanation of why people of every language describe the world in essentially similar ways – because at one time, we all had the same language, and from that group of people which God scattered over the entire earth have come all the peoples and languages that we know today. I was surprised, pleasantly, to find evidence for the truth of Scripture in such an unlikely place –- a kind confirmation from the Lord that His Word stands the test of time -– and science.

One part of this article that I haven’t thought about in depth, but am drawn to, is Yoon’s thesis that ordering and naming life is a fundamental part of who we are. It is as if Adam, in ordering and naming all the animals in the Garden of Eden – before the Fall – somehow imprinted that into the DNA of the entire human race. She concludes the article, “Once you have a name for particular beasts, birds and flowers, you can’t help seeing life and the order in it, just where it was always been, all around you.” I would simply add to that the thought that, as we see “life and the order in it,” perhaps God will reveal Himself in places that we never expected.

What encouraged me was that Jesus listened to the pleas of parents desperate for their children to live, and He healed them.  I know there are no guarantees that my children will become Christians, but Jesus’ words in John — “Go, your son will live” — give me reason to hope that he will listen to my requests to heal my children from their spiritual sickness and give them eternal life.

Last week, as I was listening to The Luke Reports from the Focus on the Family Radio Theater, the Holy Spirit turned on a light and helped me to finally understand why Jesus made such a big deal of the centurion’s faith. The key is in the centurion’s message to Jesus: “But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Luke 7:7-8)

The centurion’s point was that Jesus, like himself, possessed authority. In essence, the soldier was saying to Jesus, “Look, all I have to do is speak a work and my servants will obey me. In the same way, all you need to do is speak a word and your servants will obey you.” I suddenly realized that the reason Jesus was so impressed with the centurion’s faith was that here, in the most unlikely of places, was a man who actually recognized the extent of Jesus’ authority. This man clearly believed that sickness was subject to the Jesus’ commands. This is nothing less than an admission that Jesus was God, the creator of the universe and Master of all nature.

So now I understand the full force of Jesus’ marvel at the centurion, and His statement, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” (Luke 7:9, ESV). May my faith in everyday things be that of the centurion.

For an excellent message highlighting Jesus’ authority, listen to this sermon from Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

The house is older and has not been well cared for – it’s been one opportunity for sanctification after another this week.  Might jot down some thoughts about that later on.

For now, it’s time to sign off.

Day 7 Mileage: 412 miles

Day 8 Mileage: 424 miles

So what happened to days 5 and 6? We spent those in lovely Colorado Springs – that will have to be a separate post. I love the Springs and was disappointed when Day 7 came and we had to leave Pike’s Peak in the rear-view mirror.

The last two days have been “because we have to” days. If I had a teleport machine, I’d have used it, but instead we had to drive the 800 miles across Colorado, Kansas and Missouri. If we had teleported, though, we would have missed two days of traveling blessings from the Lord. The kids have continued to behave incredibly well, especially considering how long they’re spending strapped in the cars. We’ve been kept safe through thousands of miles of driving and lots and lots of rain. We’ve been able to visit old and new friends and rejoice in God’s work in all of our lives. So far, it’s been an outstanding trip!

One thing is for sure about I-70 – it’s straight! I’m glad to have that stretch of road behind us and to move on to some more interesting scenery in Kentucky and West Virginia. One of the neat things about these cross-country moves with the military, though, is that we get to experience nearly the entire spectrum of U.S. geography in a very short period of time. As a family, we are getting to see things that only I’ve been able to experience so far, and I’m very excited to be on this trip together.

So tonight we finally reached St. Louis, Missouri. Supper at a Japanese steakhouse and dessert at Cold Stone Creamery wrapped up the day. Tomorrow we’re meeting my sister and her two children at Cape Girardeau, MO for a day together before we push on to Louisville, KY on Saturday.

Today’s mileage: 380 miles (give or take)

The post for Day 3 of the cross-country saga fell victim to an hour in the pool with the kids. The attraction between children and hotel pools is legendary, and our children are no exception. Unfortunately, we’ve not done so well with pools this trip. Day 1, the pool was closed for repairs. Day 2 was a lightning storm. Day 3 was finally perfect pool weather, and we took full advantage of it after supper. Lydia, our youngest (14 months) seems to be absolutely fearless around the water, which is good and bad. The rest of the kids are pretty comfortable around the water and were able to just enjoy themselves.

We were so blessed to have gorgeous weather all day in Albuquerque on Saturday. Began the day with a drive up Sandia Peak with one of my mom’s cousins and her husband. He’s a Ph.D in botany, so we learned quite a bit about the region’s flora! The views of the city and surrounding area from the top are stunning, and since there was no wind at all we were able to enjoy the peak without any discomfort.

After a picnic lunch near the bottom of the mountain, we went to Old Town Albuquerque to check out a children’s science center called Explora (Motto: Ideas You Can Touch). We had looked at their website before hand and I thought it looked a little strange, but we went and checked it out anyway. Boy, were we surprised! Two floors of activities for the kids demonstrating different science concepts (water, light, electricity, moving air) in lots of different ways. The kids spent almost two hours going from exhibit to exhibit – definitely a good stop on a warm afternoon.

Today was the drive from Albuquerque to Colorado Springs. Despite lots of short stops for different reasons, we made good time and got to our hotel nice and early. After a good supper and some family card games, the kids crashed and the grown-ups got down to planning the activities for the next two days. This area has a couple weeks’ worth of things to do, so it’s hard to choose just one or two things. I think we’ve got a good game plan, though.

Today’s mileage: 455 miles

Day 2 of the 4-3-2 tour began in Phoenix, AZ at a temperature of 86 humid degrees, and ended in Albuquerque, NM at an altitude of 5000 feet, temperature 72 degrees. We arrived in the middle of a tropical downpour, remnants of Tropical Storm Eduardo. It’s been years since I’ve seen thunderstorms or rain that hard – it was great, except for the fact that we had to get 4 small children and our luggage from the car to the room! Actually, the kids loved running through the pouring rain and puddles, so it was no big deal.

Today was our longest mileage of the trip, I think, and I was anticipating something akin to a forced march. Instead, the day more or less flew by and we arrived at our hotel over an hour earlier than I had anticipated. The Holy Spirit was definitely present with each one of us today – His fruit was evident throughout the drive.

I am amazed at the geographical changes we went through today. The drive into Phoenix yesterday was through flat, hot desert, although there are some hills and ridges around the city, as well as to the north as we left. Still, though, it was mostly small hills covered in rocks and cacti. Within an hour of leaving Phoenix, though, we were climbing quickly and found ourselves surrounded by Ponderosa pine forests. My first clue that we were going fairly high was the “chain area” sign at 4,000 feet. We eventually topped out just south of Flagstaff at 7,000 feet. I definitely was not expecting to see that sort of geography in Arizona – it was absolutely beautiful and a welcome change from the desert.

As we turned east at Flagstaff, the forests and hills eventually smoothed out and we were in the “high desert” south of the Grand Canyon, with large rock outcroppings and open scrub brush plains. Beauty of a completely different sort from the pine forests, particularly since there were thunderstorms all around us most of the afternoon.

Huge kudos go to the state of Arizona for the rest area we stopped at for lunch. First of all, it was a gorgeous setting – red rocks and scrub brush desert all around, with lots of nice covered picnic tables and small gravel for the kids to play. It was a peaceful location and provided a great break from driving. Plus, the kids went right for the rock piles for some exploring as we got food ready. The most surprising thing about the place was, well, the restrooms. I’ve never seen such clean facilities near any highway – incredibly well maintained and sparkling clean. I almost didn’t want to leave – Melanie had to get me back in the car!

So now it’s bedtime in Albuquerque. The downpour has stopped for the time being, and I hope that tomorrow morning is clear so that we can drive up Sandia Peak and take in the views of the valley.

Today’s mileage: 360

Today was Day 1 of the Four-Three-Two Voyage, as I’m calling it.  That’s FOUR children, THREE thousand miles, and TWO cars.  We’re moving from San Diego to Virginia for my next Navy assignment, so it’s time for our second cross-country adventure.  Four years ago, we drove the opposite direction, but with only 1 car and 3 children. The children have changed a lot since then, to say the least. Once I figure out how to make pictures work the way I want them to, I’ll post some “then and now” shots.

I’m amazed at the grace God has shown to us over the past 30 days.  I found out about my orders one month ago today, while I was deployed to Spain.  The Lord has worked out every detail of our move with graciousness I could never have imagined – I am so thankful for His wonderful works towards me and my family the past few weeks.

So today we left San Diego bound for Phoenix, AZ.  I sincerely hope that today was the hottest day we’ll experience during our trip: 115 degrees Fahrenheit when we arrived in Phoenix at 5 PM. Supper was a highlight of the day – it’s been a long time since I had a SONIC extra-long chili cheese dog!

We’re winding down now, trying to cool down our wonderful hotel room and get kids ready for bed.  OK, we’re all getting ready for bed! Tomorrow – Albuquerque, NM!

I’m two weeks behind in posting for the Reading Classics Together effort hosted by Tim Challies. The to-do list associated with a cross-country move doesn’t leave a lot of time for non-essential activities. With our house completely packed up now, the to-do list is growing short and I have a little time to catch up. My thoughts on Part 1 of The Religious Affections follow; read Boomer in the Pew for different perspectives.

Jonathan Edwards is nothing if not thorough. Part 1 of The Religious Affections runs to 32 pages of small type as Edwards explores what “religious affections” are before he turns to examining whether they are true or not. Part 1 is founded on 1 Peter 1:8, and is entitled, “Concerning the nature of the affections, and their importance in religion.” The faith of Peter’s readers was being tried, and Edwards first discusses three advantages that trials bring to true religion:

1. The truth of it is manifested
2. Trials make true religion’s genuine beauty and amiableness remarkably to appear, and
3. Trials purify and increase true religion.

This raised a question for me: In light of these benefits, it is then preferable that there should always be trials attending the practice of true religion? Is that the most desirable state for the church? What can be said for a “religious” population, or for the state of true religion, where there is a noticeable lack of common trials? Also, these three benefits apply not only to true “corporate” religion, but to individual religion or faith as well.

Edwards goes on to describe from 1 Peter 1:8 the two ways in which true religion operates – through love to Christ, and through joy in Christ. True religion is always centered on the person of Christ. He makes an interesting comment on the depth of the joy that believers experience:

“It was a most noble, worthy rejoicing…it was a prelibation of the joy of heaven, that raised their minds to a degree of heavenly blessedness.”

This is far from a fleeting joy that I find in earthly things – this is a deep, abiding joy that is not tied to my circumstances or anything here on earth.

In the main section of the chapter, Edwards develops 10 specific points which show that the heart of true religion lies in the affections or emotions. The following quote summarizes his argument:

“That religion which God requires, and will accept, does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless wishes, raising us but a little above a state of indifference: God, in His word, greatly insists upon it, that we be in good earnest, ‘fervent in spirit,’ and our hearts vigorously engaged in religion: Rom. 12:11, Deut. 10:12.” (p. 27)

Of the myriad excellent points in this chapter, two particularly stood out to me for application in my own life. First is from his 9th point – that the “duties and ordinances” that God has given us to exercise true religion are designed to affect and raise our emotions. He mentions specifically prayer, singing, and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as being designed specifically to excite our emotions in the worship of God. As my religious background has been much more “mental” than emotional, I find this perspective very freeing in both my personal and corporate worship. Not that I have ever thought that it is wrong to display emotion in worship, but when I consider that the ways that God has provided for us to worship as a gathered church are specifically designed to excite our emotions, I find myself less conscious about displaying emotions outwardly in public worship.

The second point of application is one of significant conviction. It is clear to me as I read this book that my life is not characterized by both the broad spectrum and the depth of the affections which Edwards is describing. He writes this as inference #3 near the end of the chapter:

“If true religion lies much in the affections, hence we may learn what great cause we have to be ashamed and confounded before God, that we are no more affected with the great things of religion. It appears from what has been said that this arises from our having so little true religion.”

That is a thought which brings me up short and in some ways fear when I consider how little “true religion” is evident in my affections. While I have seen a growth in my desires for God, works such as this book show how miserably short I fall of what God expects and desires from me. Indeed, as Edwards points out at the end of the chapter, there is nothing which should excite more affection in me than a consideration of Christ’s work on the cross.

I am very thankful that the gospel, the same thing which convicts me of my coldness and lack of affection towards God, also promises to provide the very thing I lack – a new and transformed heart which will respond more and more to God as the Holy Spirit conforms me to Christ’s image.