Not long ago, I was in another state for a few days. On those rare occasions when I travel without Kathy, our routine is pretty fixed. I will call her at the end of the day to say good night. The next morning, I will wait for her to text me to say good morning (she doesn’t set an alarm clock when I’m away, so I don’t want to wake her up).
During the recent aforementioned separation, we talked during the middle of the evening. She assumed that was our good night call. She came home after going to a Bible study and the grocery store, and I got a Ring notification showing her enter our house. About 90 minutes later, I called to say good night. The call went to voice mail. I texted. Nothing. I tried communicating through Alexa. Nothing. I checked Life360. Her phone had died. So, I went to sleep.
The next morning, I tried reaching her again. Ring showed no motion, not even letting our dog Ollie out. Her phone was still dead. My concern grew! This was unprecedented! Something was wrong! Had she hit her head? Had there been a home invasion?
I texted a good friend who lives nearby, asking him if they could check on her. At 6:15, he stopped by with his daughters on his way to taking them to school. He rang the doorbell several times and even knocked hard on both the side and front doors. Finally, Kathy emerged–she thought it was our youngest son’s truck since our friend’s truck looks very similar. She was unharmed, though embarrassed and unprepared for early morning company!
We found out that morning that there was a minor gas leak in our fireplace which might have coaxed her into a deeper state of sleep. The rest was just coincidence. She thought we’d already said good night. She read for a while, then went to sleep. The next thing she remembered was Jeremy banging on our door. There was plenty of embarrassment to go around.
I thought about this situation and how it illustrates several things.
It can take some persistent knocking before some will answer (Rev. 3:20)!
It is notable when one who usually can be counted on to respond a certain way does not; it is often a sign that something is wrong. If you missed a church service, would people wonder where you are since it was so unusual–or would they expect it (Heb. 10:24-25)? If you lost your temper or sinned with your tongue, would people think that it was uncharacteristic or par for the course?
When we truly love and care about someone, we will persistently try and reach them if we think they’re in trouble (Jas. 5:19-20)!
Checking on someone we think is in trouble is to risk embarrassment and an uncertain response.
Sometimes, it takes another person to do what we tried but could not do (1 Cor. 3:6-9)!
Fortunately, this is something that Kathy and I can laugh about now. We’ve fixed the leak in our fireplace. Hopefully, this will never happen again. But it is an indelible memory for both of us. It also illustrates that there are circumstances that call for urgency and action! As it concerns the soul, the stakes are eternally higher than the physical. May we take Paul’s words to heart as it concerns our spiritual work: “For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:14-16).
If you asked me to belay the fears of those worried about climate change quickly, I would do so by citing one Scripture. Granted, this would only work for a minority of people who 1) believe in God and 2) accept the Bible as His infallible revelation to humanity. Nevertheless, I would still begin with God’s words to Noah.
“As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” (Genesis 8.22 NLT)
If you are a person of faith, that is all you need to hear. It does not matter what computer models claim. Behind the climate change hype, one notes that, typically, politicians are trying to seize more money and control through industry regulation and carbon taxes. I realize that it feels empowering to think the task of saving the planet is yours to undertake. I imagine it gives a sense of purpose. Yet, a person of faith sees that this ability to “save the planet” exceeds his or her grasp. God told the patriarch Job that He alone could bring the sword to His creation (Job 40.15ff).
Lastly, people of faith will likewise acknowledge that Holy Writ reveals a history of periods of extreme weather. In particular, one notes the seven years of feast and famine foreseen by the pharaoh and interpreted by Joseph via God’s Spirit (Genesis 41.29-31). That dearth of food, brought on by drought, was bad enough that it impacted even Joseph’s brothers living many miles away (Genesis 41.57-52.2). The foretold famine of Genesis 41 was not the only drought depicted in Scripture. The conditions leading to famine understood as drought, caused the patriarchs Abraham (then Abram) and Isaac and Naomi and her husband to take refuge where they could find food (Genesis 12.10; 26.1; Ruth 1.1).
Drought was not limited to the Old Testament. For example, in Acts 11.28, the prophet Agabus foresaw a “great dearth” (KJV) that would occur during the reign of Claudius Caesar. Though people have repeatedly undertaken the challenge of disproving the veracity of Luke’s scholarship, Luke has always proven true. There were, in total, four famines noted in secular history during the reign of Claudius Caesar. One such famine centered in Judea and served as the impetus for Paul’s missionary journeys (Acts 11.29-30). At this point, hopefully, the person of faith has had his or her fears about “climate change” assuaged. But what about those who do not accept the existence of God or the inspiration of Scripture?
Well, let’s play devil’s advocate. The late comedian, George Carlin, had a great point about “saving the planet” within one of his stand-up routines for those embracing evolutionary dogma. He mentioned that the planet has allegedly been here for billions of years by evolutionary timetables. In comparison, humans have supposedly only been here for a couple of hundred thousand years. Even then, humanity has only engaged in heavy industrialization for about 200 years. Yet, species of flora and fauna have come and gone whether “we” have done anything or not. Carlin says that nature takes care of itself.1 (By the way, Christians agree somewhat with this sentiment since we accept that Christ sustains His creation—Colossians 1.15-17; Hebrews 1.3.)
Meanwhile, the evidence touted by academics promoting today’s climate change hysteria points to such things as more significant amounts of greenhouse gases in earth’s remote past “before man.” (These scientists said that our current greenhouse gases, purported to be thanks to human activity, now matchedwhat they observed in that distant past.)2
Other factors impacting weather and climate have nothing to do with man. For example, thanks to volcanic activity, our world entered a mini-ice age persisting for several centuries, despite the birth of industrialization, into the late nineteenth century.3 And there are likewise such factors as orbital changes (i.e., Milankovitch cycles) and sunspot activity influencing the weather. Regarding the impact of sunspots, scientists note the Maunder minimum that persisted for over twenty years between the latter seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It added bitterness to the already cold mini-ice age.4
The weather is going to change. It always has and always will. Though the climate is different from weather, one notes climate is the weather record over a protracted period. And when was the last time your weatherman gave you an accurate weather forecast for a month into the future? Of course, they cannot do that, can they? No, they are constantly observing the computer models and giving you their best guess from their resources’ data. A forecast can drastically change within a day.
Computer programmers have a mantra as old as modern computing: “Garbage in, garbage out.” In other words, a program is only as good as the data entered into it. Therefore, if you have bias, the results of your programming will reflect that bias. Those crying “climate change” benefit from computer modeling that paints an apocalyptic future picture. Fear is a great motivator. Unscrupulous people will use unfounded fear to get you to go along with the message they are peddling.
Does this absolve us of our role as God’s caretakers (Genesis 1.26-28)? No, we ought to be good stewards. Therefore, we accept as a principle what Paul said of man’s stewardship of the Gospel: God must find us faithful (1 Corinthians 4.2). If God has given us stewardship of the planet, we ought not to pollute or abuse it. The Dust Bowl and Georgia’s Providence Canyon reveal what happens from poor farming practices that rob the earth of the protective soil: severe erosion. In like manner, belching industrial smokestacks and burning fires wreak havoc on the lungs of the asthmatic. Without rushing headlong into a hysteria that ultimately doubts God’s power or fails to accept His promise, we can grasp these truths.
I will close as I began, with those words God spoke in the presence of Noah to all of humanity.
“As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” (Genesis 8.22 NLT)
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