The Bible Edge
Everyone needs an Edge, Believers can have the Bible Edge
Ecclesiastes 11:3
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
It is what it is. If you have ever walked through a forest you’ve seen trees that have fallen. If they fall to the north, they will be laying with the top of the tree pointing north. A tree does not fall to the north, then when no one is watching stands up and changes its orientation to the south. Yep, if a tree falls in one direction, that is where it will stay.
If the clouds are full of rain it will rain. There is nothing else that can happen. The clouds will empty themselves of the water in them by the process that we call rain. These are pragmatic statements; they are based on nature and logic concerning natural things. James uses a similar type of statement in James 3:11: Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Our understanding of nature teaches us that no place on earth does a fountain of water bring forth sweet water and bitter water at the same time. It is what it is. It is a sweet fountain, or it is a bitter fountain.
The same is true with people. They are what they are. However, unlike the tree that falls in the forest, the clouds that are full of water, or the fountain people can change.
Onesimus was such a person. He changed for the better. Paul wrote about him in the short book of Philemon verse 11 stating: Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: Onesimus was unprofitable, then became profitable. His change took place because of his newfound faith in Jesus Christ through His Gospel. That was the catalyst that caused Onesimus to change.
Any change in the life of a person has a catalyst, a stimulus, a spark, a goad if you will. It is what it is…until it isn’t. In the natural world there are things that will never change, they are constant. In the human experience though, people change. That is the wonderful nature of humanity. The possibility for change, for growth, for improvement. If you are a manager, look for ways to inspire change for the better. If you are a person whose only responsibility is yourself, look for influences that will inspire the change in your life that you know is needed. After all, you are what you are until you aren’t anymore. If a life change is needed to improve it can happen, you can change. The Bible is your best Edge in how, what, and when to make those changes.
William Howe, Ph.D.