God's Jurassic Lessons

Have you considered that the Jurassic Park movies tell a story that we may have overlooked? There are now four movies with the same theme and same basic plot. Jurassic Park in 1993, The Lost world, Jurassic Park in 1997, Jurassic Park III in 2001 and the 2015 version, Jurassic World. These are yet not enough as Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom will be released in 2018. The music is compelling and the theme song by John Williams is recognizable by most, actually it just started playing in my head. The Spielberg computer generated dinosaurs are remarkably lifelike and a bit terrifying at times. They are entertaining and can even get your heart rate up a bit as the raptors and an occasional T Rex chase those poor souls across the screen. They may be a bit intense for smaller children, but they are almost an iconic series in American culture. And one thing for certain, a few folks manage to escape and a few dinosaurs remain to provide fodder for yet another sequel. What does this have to do with a lesson from the Lord? Glad you asked.

The point of all of the movies, especially the sequels, is that man has control over nature. Man can return the lost creatures to be a part of a new ecology. A little DNA splicing along with the magic of science and technology and Voilà! dinosaurs once again roam the earth. The problem is that dinosaurs do not make good pets. They are not creatures easily controlled. The ones that feed on meat still want to feed on meat and they do not discriminate. Humans make good appetizers. The reason there are four movies is that there are always scientist, engineers, and even military people that think they are better, smarted, and more prepared than the group that was eaten in the previous movie. They will succeed where the others have terribly failed.However, very similar results occur. The dinosaurs cannot be tamed or kept confined and people still become dino-lunch. No one seems to learn from those earlier attempts. In the latest version the hero will be sent back to the Jurassic Island to rescue the dinosaurs. A volcano on the Island is about to erupt and destroy all these prehistoric creatures. In the words of the hero scientist, "What could possibly go wrong?"

This seems to be the plight of humanity as a whole. Each generation has those that determined that they are brighter, more prepared, a bit more evolved than their predecessors. They can disregard the previous results. Failure was not do to a flaw in the plan, it was due to a flaw in those who made the attempt. In this case the attempt to live without divine oversight. Some may refer to this man made religion as humanism or rationalism but it is the same process human kind has gone through for thousands of years. No matter how many times civil society is tried without the oversight of divine truth, the experiment fails. It takes longer than a couple hour movie but the result is the same. People end up in danger and some of them die as a result of yet another failed godless social experiment. There is a god replacement in these plans. It is a growing, powerful, increasingly intrusive authority. A king, or dictator, or some elite class to rule over and control the masses. Morals and guidelines decided by committee usually do not apply to the committee. Because of their status and intellect they are exempt. Out of some misguided benevolence they set up rules for the lesser beings they rule over to protect them. Meaning, to have control over them. And as the rules, laws, restrictions, and controls have a basis in fickle human behavior, they change with the needs of the elite. Freedoms are compromised for "security".  Education must be controlled, communication regulated, and the disruptive subjugated for the benefit of the whole.

Any objective evaluation of previous societies that have grown and failed will find the same story line. Some in power conclude that they have the answers and set about a plan to oversee the lives of others. They assume the place of God and the value of life is usually the first thing to go. Citizens are there to serve, to provide, and be fodder for conquest. The dignity God placed in humanity is compromised. There are those who chafe against the growing oppressive government so they must be silenced. The influence of divine based revelation for human society must be nullified. In the name of tolerance those with a moral foundation, call it a Biblical foundation, that is greater than the presiding  authority, must be eliminated. The moral code of the state is all that matters. This being true we see the collapse of empires, the moral decay that becomes unsustainable. Life is sacrificed for entertainment in a coliseum, Jews are herded into death camps, dissenters are executed, the non-compliant beheaded or, on a lessor scale, the call, by some, to submit to God's authority simply becomes illegal.

Now many can argue that nations and societies have failed for diverse reasons. However, God's principles for society, for life in general, are always violated. Men choose to worship and serve the created rather than the Creator. The rise of the elite, the "more intelligent", the more "advanced", the more evolved, and more powerful, those who know better, comes at the expense of the rest of society. They believe their intentions are pure. The world they will build will be better. They can control the evolution of society and offer a better life for those under their protective authority. There just needs to be a few more guidelines and confiscation of a little more of the people's wealth to make it work. Just build a better cage for the raptors, a better habitat for the T-rex, a safer environment for the masses. Just a few more restrictions, a little more control, a little less interference from the dissenters who speak of some archaic Biblical authority. Humanity declares, "This time we will get it right." "No need for God's directions or interference." "We are better, more evolved than those who went before." Science, technology, social engineering, academics, these are the only gods needed. The Jurassic process is often subtle. A gradual shift away from the foundation God has provided. A quiet shift to belief in education, science, humanitie's ability to overcome any obstacle. The belief that we have advanced beyond a need for God's foundation is realized over time. Until that eroded foundation is replaced with human control. The byproduct is the loss of freedom, dignity, and life. All offered on the alter of "progress". Another culture, society, dynasty, world power, or despotic authority comes to an end. The stage is now set for yet another sequel. But, next time, I am sure we can control the dinosaurs.                   

Eliminating the Past

Do you ever struggle with past failures? Do you wish you could suck those spoken words back into your mouth? Are there memories that seem to haunt you when you try to move forward? This is probably true for most of us. Paul had a number of past actions he wanted to keep in the past. In his letter to the Philippians he writes, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). When you look at the context Paul includes a lot of things that have nothing to do with failure. They are things about his ancestry, his family line, a Pharisee, as to pursuing keeping the Law, blameless. They are about his education and accomplishments, the only sin mentioned is his persecution of the Messianic assemblies. Not that Paul's failures did not weigh on his mind from time to time. He does not refer to himself as, "the Chief of sinners", in 1 Timothy 1:15, for no reason at all.

God does not want us to live in the past. Old things are to pass away and all things are become new, (2 Corinthians 5:17). If we live in our accomplishments we can become proud, arrogant, and not strive to move forward in our relationship with Christ. If we live in our short comings then life is constricted by guilt and failure and we feel worthless and unworthy to serve the Lord. Either way we are crippled and ineffective with caring for the responsibilities God places in our hands. So the Apostle Paul says, let it go and keep pressing on toward that upward call in Christ Jesus. Onward and upward with the Lord.

This is all certainly true and should be applied to our lives so we have the opportunity to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. However, I do not think that Paul, or the Lord, is calling us to historic amnesia. God designed everything to flow in a cycle. Days, seasons, planting and harvest, as well as life itself, follows more of a reoccurring cycle than a linear progression of unrelated events. We realize true repentance, the turning away from a sinful behavior, only when a similar opportunity to sin returns and we have victory. History and our past is not to be eliminated but rather, learned from. If Paul's intent was that God wanted us to fully forget the past we would have a very abbreviated Bible. If we removed every failure and every success from the Scriptures we would be left with a rule book with no examples as how to put them into practice. God determined to reveal Himself through relationships with people and peoples relationships with one another. This gives us examples, instruction, and hope knowing God has been using imperfect failures to advance His Kingdom for generations.

Abraham believed God, was willing to offer Isaac, and lied about Sarah being his wife. Issac preferred the son who was not of the promised line while Jacob wrestled with God and prevailed but deceived his father, with the help of his mother. Moses is a friend of God, leads god's people out of bondage, kills the Egyptian, refuses to speak to Pharaoh, and strikes the rock. David defeats Goliath and commit adultery and murder. Solomon asks for wisdom and introduces idolatry to God's people. Peter denies and then becomes a foundation stone for the Messianic community. James mocks Jesus when the Lord has His earthly ministry and then becomes the head of the church in Jerusalem. Not to leave the women out, Rahab was a prostitute who believes God and ends up in the line of Messiah. Ruth a Moabite, a non Jew, who cares for her Jewish mother in law, is David's great grandmother. Mary of Magdala was possessed by demons but came to be the Lord's treasured servant. The entire history of God's people is one of failure and redemption. Virtually every book in the Bible deals with people not getting along. Even tiny books like 2nd and 3rd John deal with relational issues. If we are honest, the record God gives us is not very pretty. However, it is remarkably helpful.

There is a movement within the American culture to remove and eliminate reminders of past failures and the record of men and women who were flawed. We find something distasteful about their character and conclude that who they were and what they accomplished should not be remembered. History of any people is not a record of pure and blameless people. It is a record of flawed men and women who lived and worked to build a nation. Their examples are there to learn from, not to worship or emulate in every aspect. After giving us a historic list of remarkable, yet broken, people from the historic past, the writer of Hebrews begins Chapter 12 with, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." In other words, let us learn from their lives, avoid the sin they fought with, and run with endurance, for the road is long and fret with dangers. They bear witness to the power and grace of a God Who uses broken stones to build His Kingdom.

Our history, likewise, surrounds us with a great cloud of witnesses who built a nation and learned as they went. Not unlike England or France or China, or South Africa. Every nation has its damaged heroes and grievances that should not be repeated or perpetuated. Reliving the past is no way to live going forward. Ignoring the past or burying it along with those who lived it will invite us to perpetuate the same errors and acts of intolerance. If we fail to learn or determine to hide the truth, as ugly as it may be or as uncomfortable as it might make us feel, will simply give us the opportunity to relive it once again until we learn the lessons God has for us.