On a clear day, you can see seven states if you know what you’re looking at…or so said the words at the top of Lookout Mountain in Chatanooga, TN.
When I was about a dozen years or so old, I got a biology lab kit for Christmas. Mom had been taking a class in college where, I think, she had to dissect animal remains. So, she bought me (all of us?) some dissection tools. Tweezers, pins to hold things open, scalpel, and some other similar tools. Have I given you a clear view of what Christmas and Birthdays were like?!!? Some of the best!
I set my biology lab up in the garage and spent time dissecting and making slides of tissues from the kit supplied samples. Fish. Frog. Worm. You get the picture. Formaldehyde does not smell good, but you had to get used to it if you were going to be successful.
To this day I’m not sure how successful I was, but I did learn the secret of seeing the miniaturized world. It’s small down there! Full of surprises, you only learn about it when you have the ability to clearly see those small things.
Best Tools
That’s where the microscope came in handy. It had a “Christmas tree” light bulb, or you could use directed light via a mirror attachment. Take a drop of water from the ditch and any freshwater spigot… Contrast and compare… Gaze into the microscopic world. You will never open your mouth in a lake or stream, and you’ll probably boil your water for days and only drink the steam as it condenses minus the creatures that live microscopically!
Then, later in life, I got a fairly decent telescope and could then bring the far off places into close proximity. As a sailor standing in a crow’s nest can see further than anyone on the open deck of a ship, the telescope gave me the power to bring closer things that were further away.
Regardless, neither tool worked very well if you did not turn the focus knob to get the image just so…
But perhaps the best tool of all was the inquisitiveness of the mind.
The Secret
What’s the secret? I learned it’s not only having the ability to see more clearly, but it’s mostly understanding what you are seeing! Understanding comes from learning, and much of our learning process comes from the old fashioned classroom. At least, back in my day. With the marvels of the internet walking around with you every day, you can experience learning from all facets and about any subject you imagine.
The secret here? Have an inquisitive mind. Simply dumping classroom knowledge on a student’s head does not make that person smarter. Enquiring minds must ask deeper questions to learn better.
What’s the true secret? How do you make someone want to learn more? Why isn’t everyone as inquisitive as others?
Remember when you first opened a book that promised to deliver a good story, and you couldn’t wait to get to the ending? Then you looked for the next book that promised the same thing. Maybe it was a serial storyline or a genre. Regardless, if you are like me, it’s hard to back down from searching for the next good thing to read and study! In practically every book I mark words, research meanings, and look for open pathways to understanding things I never before had grasped.
Warning
The problem with any research is wasted time. Some things simply don’t need your energy to think through or to come to an obvious conclusion. Someone has already “been there, done that” and if they’ve posted the conclusion, then sometimes it’s a simple thing to read the bottom line.
Or, research may simply be a rabbit trail headed into a briar patch that could entangle you for too many hours. Paul talks about these pitfalls in his last known letter to Timothy. (2 Timothy 3:1-9)
There is a danger of always looking for something new and never finding the end, or it opens up another wormhole that leads you further down a dangerous path.
Perhaps the warning is necessary. Without someone helping us to understand the limits of our personalities, we would perhaps never be satisfied. Solomon defines hell and destruction as destinations that are never satisfied (Proverbs 27:20) – they are always looking for another attendee. Whereas, in Christ, we can be satisfied.
Again, the thought rings true. We need to keep our focus on the necessary things, and what’s necessary for me may not be the same as for you.
Someone shared the thought last week that produced this observation:
Too many read too many books
about the bible,
instead of simply reading the Bible itself.
It’s almost as if we are always looking for something that will explain what we should be able to dig out for ourselves.
Blessings!
Just before the Old Testament book of Joel describes the outflowing of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28) that birthed the church (Acts 2:1-4), the prophet pens these words.
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the LORD your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame.
(Joel 2:26 NKJV)
There will be a time and place of “plenty” and you will be “satisfied”. With what? The prior verses describe the plenty of the time and place relating to food sources.
Today, I realize, that’s not just natural food. It’s also Spiritual food.
Remember how Jesus said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”? (Hebrews 13:5) Now. Here’s a point of research worthy of any student of the bible. This phrase goes back to the beginning of time and for several generations of leaders, God has given this same promise. (Genesis 28:15, Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Chronicles 28:20)
Maybe the key is this. You will find the blessings you need when you keep your focus on the necessary things. Where is your focus today?
There is a danger of always looking for something new and never finding the ending, or it opens up another wormhole that leads you further down a dangerous path. Click To Tweet