The Bright Side

Any advertisement making the claim "built to last" captures our attention. Why? Because it seems that hardly anything these days truly is. Almost anything we purchase appears to be make to break, in fact. Recently, I purchased a new washer and dryer. The man who removed my existing one sadly shook his head saying, "these machines used to last forever." As if the sticker shock wasn't enough, the possibility of products being deliberately manufactured not to last, using cheap materials and poor craftsmanship is sobering. Looking in the mirror at my aging body is a grim reminder of the process over time. Yet we are told that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, skillfully woven together in the womb. (Psalm 139). Surely our Creator didn't make us to degrade. Actually we were built to last ! Death wasn't introduced into the world until sin, as the "wages for sin". (Romans 6:23). But the good news is that our souls were made for eternity. God provi

I have a friend who loves maps. She loves to unfold them, hold them in her hands, and study them... just because. Maybe you can relate. I can't. Even though I once worked as a cartographer, hand-inking topographic maps in the late '80's, it was nothing more to me than very detailed line work that sent me home every evening cross-eyed with pounding headaches. Even so, if I become desperately confused (in an airport, for instance), I will occasionally swallow my pride, find a directional display, and locate the "you are here" big red X . I can usually navigate from there. Some people don't need maps. They have an internal compass and would never ever wander aimlessly in a grocery store parking lot searching for their car. In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we read about the first disorientation. Immediately after disobeying God, Adam and Eve recognized their nakedness and for the first time, felt shame. They then did what any of us would do. They hid thems