The Calf-Path

"And where are you going and why?" I ask myself.

The Calf-Path
by Sam Walter Foss. Public Domain.

One day through the primeval wood
A calf walked home as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail as all calves do.
Since then three hundred years have fled,
And I infer the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.
The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way;
And then a wise bell–wether sheep
Pursued the trail o'er vale and steep,
And drew the flock behind him, too,
As good bell–wethers always do.
And from that day, o'er hill and glade,
Through those old woods a path was made.
And many men wound in and out,
And dodged and turned and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath
Because 'twas such a crooked path;
But still they followed – do not laugh -
The first migrations of that calf,
And though this winding wood-way stalked
Because he wobbled when he walked.
This forest path became a lane
That bent and turned and turned again;
This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And thus a century and a half
They trod the footsteps of that calf.
The years passed on in swiftness fleet,
The road became a village street;
And this, before men were aware,
A city's crowded thoroughfare.
And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.
Each day a hundred thousand rout
Followed this zigzag calf about
And o'er his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.
A hundred thousand men were led
By one calf near three centuries dead.
They followed still his crooked way.
And lost one hundred years a day,
For thus such reverence is lent
To well-established precedent.
A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained and called to preach;
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf-paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.
They keep the path a sacred groove,
Along which all their lives they move;
But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf.
Ah, many things this tale might teach —
But I am not ordained to preach.

We Aren't Safe

Israel. God's chosen people.
It just occured to me tonight...

We aren't safe from God just because He has chosen us.
We're only safe when we have chosen Him.

One

The scribe asked Jesus: "What commandment is the foremost of all?"

His answer: "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord."

There is something magical in that statement. The Lord our God is one Lord.
One in a Triune community. And we are invited, can you believe it, invited...
into that oneness...
into that community... through our faith in Jesus.

I love that God is telling a story about oneness here on earth. A story about how the fragments came to be, and about how He is putting them back together one piece at a time through our faith and obedience to Christ. I love it that each believer has his own set of pieces to add to the big picture story that God is directing so well. It's a great drama because God is a great story teller. It's a great drama because it's not just a good story, it's a true one. It's a great drama because Christ Himself is the great warrior hero, and the powerful opponent will ultimately be defeated and removed from the picture altogether. In the end this wild chaotic mess will be in harmony. It will be one. Wow.

I guess so many people miss the big story because all they can see are more pieces than they can count. All they see are fragments and some pretty nasty ones at that. They have no clue how all those story lines could possibly fit together in a way that makes sense.

Yet everywhere we look there are signs that God is leaving a witness to His bigger story, His signs of love, His signs of the oneness that was lost and will one day be regained. Pick up a good book and we find that stories have a beginning, middle, and an end. The problem gets solved, the person is changed, the lesson is learned. Just a small reflection of the bigger story God is telling of healing, of making things fit where they didn't fit before.

Examine what a scientist examines. God and His sovereign design is easily confirmed by the incredible complexity of the universe and all it contains. Check out my daughter Jen's blog for more of that. Her entry 2/5/07. http://aggiechick03.blogspot.com/

Look at History. See what makes nations rise and fall in power, and why. Even the continents' shapes seem to indicate that this old earth was once one continent.

There's not a word that issues forth from our God that will not take place. He is in control. He is on the throne. He is directing it all. And oh, what a glorious story it will be, it is now! The story of One.
Yep. The Lord our God is one Lord. One in a community of hearts that beats a little stronger each day the rhythm of His love, one in a community of praises that echoes loudly of the salvation that comes from Him alone. One in the healing of the nations. One in the healing of hearts. That's God. The Lord our God. He invited us to join Him, to be one with Him. We did. Could anything be sweeter?