Absurdities

There are happenings in life that are weird. Some things seem penultimately strange. We chalk them up as unbelievable, incredible, or even supernatural. They go beyond science fiction or fantasy. When we decide they are true, our faith sets them apart as Godly.

A few of these are the crucifixion of the Son of God, His resurrection, His virgin birth, and other BIGGIES we know to be miraculous. There are many less significant stories from the Bible, though, that get my sense of WONDER up...way UP! Allow me to share a few of these.

In Joshua 6, we can read of the Battle of Jericho. For seven days the Israelites walked around that fortified and impenetrable city in silence...until they didn't. Then they blew trumpets and shouted. The walls fell and the victory was theirs.

In Judges 7, Gideon whittled his army down to 300 men who quenched their thirst in the proper manner. He faced the Midianites force of 135,000 soldiers. The odds were not in his favor. He was outnumbered 450/1. Again trumpets and shouting were involved as the victory was quickly assured. The enemy were even slaying one another.

II Kings 5 relates the story of the great general Naaman. He was a hopeless leper until he was convinced by a slave girl to follow the advice of God's prophet Elisha. He immersed himself seven times in the murkiness of the River Jordan and was cleansed.

Acts 12:19-24 presents the bizarre tale of King Herod, enemy of Christians. He chose not to disagree with the people when they shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” It took but a moment for his demise to come: "Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died." [Notice the order indicates he was still alive when the worms feasted.]

These above stories are all illustrations of unusual occurrences of astonishing phenomena. Only my faith allows me to believe in their reality. Absurdities? Probably. Truths? Absolutely!

Below are two of the most unusual photos we have taken in our travels:

Odd signage in Hawaii, 2013

Unusual rendering of Noah's Ark
downtown Bucharest, Romania, 2012