My Inbox of Daily Inspirations: Daily Heartlight -- November 17, 2007

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November 17, 2007

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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================

In the Shadow of God, by Lisa Mikitarian

David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and
do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my
God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the
work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished (1
Chronicles 28:20 TNIV). I have brought you glory on earth by
completing the work you gave me to do. (John 17:4).

Autumn in the Appalachians is my husband's idea of heaven on earth. Sam
is in his element in Autumn. It makes me chilly just thinking about it.
I prefer mid-spring with its warmth and new life. And while I
appreciate the wonders of God's natural world, I also prize the
movement and wonder of a colossal city.

I have deep respect for people who design and build all sorts of things
-- my husband chief among those I respect. How do they keep slabs of
stone from collapsing before the keystone is inserted? How does the
Eiffel Tower appear to be gracefully curved when every single one of
its girders is straight? I might know the "book answers," but these
questions still boggle my mind.

In college, I took a class on interpersonal skills called, "Building
Bridges Not Walls." In our first experiential learning exercise, we
were placed in teams of four and assigned the task of building a
bridge. Each team was given an assortment of office supplies --
pencils, sticky notes, paperclips, etc. -- with which to create the
structure. As far as our team went, there was not an engineer among us,
but what we lacked in knowledge we made up in enthusiasm. In high
school, we were probably the same kids whose inflated math egos didn't
correlate with the academic scores we earned in the standardized
testing arena. We didn't so much build a bridge as we fashioned or even
decorated a bridge. It was heavy on form and light on function.
"Interesting" was how the instructor diplomatically termed it -- just
before it collapsed.

Later on in life, during a trip to New York, I tilted my head and
looked up, and up and up, as my eyes traced the lines of the
skyscrapers. I thought to myself, "No wonder it's easier to find Jesus
in the natural landscapes of home than it seems to be in the city. In
the country, you behold what God created; in the city, you behold what
humans have created. And if you didn't know that Almighty God had
endowed these mortals with the intelligence and skill to make their
endeavors possible, then humanism and human hubris just might make
sense."

We'll appreciate the splendor of it all together!

However, when humans do recognize from whom they have received their
gift, they are similar to Bezalel and Oholiab, the craftsmen Yahweh
handpicked to build His Tabernacle (Exodus 35:30-35; Exodus 36:1-8).
And why did he pick them? It's not likely they had many building
opportunities while they wandered in the desert for forty years. They
didn't seem particularly verbal, either. The only time speech is
attributed to them, when they talk to Moses -- instead of directly to
the Israelites -- telling him that the people are being too generous
with outfitting the sanctuary (Exodus 36:5). They were chosen because
God had equipped these two men of few words to build to His glory. The
very name "Bezalel" means "In the Shadow of God" and his design and
building skills clearly reflect his time in the presence of the Most
Holy One and his desire to honor his God.

Some of our children are gifted with a builder's hands or an engineer's
mind. We need to give them the opportunity and the encouragement to
explore and use those gifts. In a recent "Popular Mechanics" article,
Jay Leno wrote about a young man who in 1931, at age seventeen, built a
three-wheeled coupe powered by a 77.2 cu. in. four cylinder Indian
Motorcycle Engine (like I know what that means). He did this because
his father told him that if he wanted a car, then he had to build it.
Jay decided to see what boys in the 1930's were up to. The editors of
"Popular Mechanics" sent him a copy of "The Boy Mechanic", which was
aimed at boys age 8 and up. When Jay looked at the projects, he came to
the conclusion that the boys of today wouldn't be able to build them
because now boys sit in front of screens instead of work with their
hands.

I don't completely agree with Jay. It is true many youngsters spend too
much time on video games and computers, but I still bet some of our
kids could construct those projects. If you have such a child, I hope
you don't overly fret if that child doesn't seem "academic enough"; if
he or she would rather spend the day hammering more than conjugating,
fabricating more than spelling, and measuring more than writing, then
find ways to encourage the use of those gifts responsibly. Pray that
your child will find a way to use those interests to honor God. They
may just be like Bezalel -- gifted to live "in the Shadow of God" and
build to his glory.

As for Sam and me, we'll appreciate the splendor of it all together --
autumn and spring, mountains and cities, God-made and mortal-made. We
recognize that when people design and create, whether they realize it
or not, that ability has been bestowed on them by our heavenly Father,
the Master Builder of it all.

---------
(c) 2007 Lisa Mikitarian <miks@shentel.net>

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Daily Heartlight -- November 17, 2007