The Cracked Acorn: Be prepared

Years ago, I purchased a 1956 Chrysler Imperial from a friend. When we cleaned out the trunk, I was impressed that he was prepared for all types of road hazards and in all kinds of weather. He had backups to the backups and clothing to change into to put on a spare tire or to do on-road maintenance.

My sons often asked me to tell them of the “old days.” They thought I was ancient. I told them how I lived on a farm, and we depended on crops and livestock to give us income. Drought, disease, too much rain, and high winds could seriously damage a good crop of corn and wheat. We also grew the cash crop, tobacco, which is a very delicate plant. A quick hail storm could send you looking for a public job to get the family through the winter. Many of today’s farmers have done this. Agriculture is the one big industry quickly affected by natural disasters of any type.

Those who watch weather patterns predict that more and more hurricanes will come ashore and head farther north. I remember Isabel for it left us without power for four days. It took me back to my childhood when we depended on kerosene lamps and cooked over wood stoves. This could happen again.

We have no other choice but to live in this physical world that God created for us. It may not always behave the way we wish. We cannot live in straw houses set upon a sandy beach.

ALL WHO LISTEN TO MY INSTRUCTIONS AND FOLLOW THEM ARE WISE, LIKE A MAN WHO BUILDS HIS HOUSE ON SOLID ROCK. THOUGH THE RAINS COME IN TORRENTS, AND THE FLOODS RISE AND THE STORM WINDS BEAT AGAINST HIS HOUSE, IT WON’T COLLAPSE, FOR IT IS BUILT ON ROCK. BUT THOSE WHO HEAR MY INSTRUCTIONS AND IGNORE THEM ARE FOOLISH, LIKE A MAN WHO BUILDS HIS HOUSE ON SAND. FOR WHEN THE RAINS AND FLOODS COME, AND STORM WINDS BEAT AGAINST HIS HOUSE, IT WILL FALL WITH A MIGHTY CRASH. (Matthew 7:24-27)

The crowd who heard these words from Jesus was amazed at his wisdom. I wonder how many of that number went and moved their houses. There is always a great lesson to be learned from the Scriptures.

Three million people live within the shadow of the world’s most historically deadly volcano at Vesuvius, Italy. One of its violent eruptions in 79 A.D. described by Pliny the Younger buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Within a period of 19 hours these two towns were buried in ash and the inhabitants were caught in the gas and cinders. Yet, today within the shadow of this violent volcano, smoking and sending out tremors, people carry on their daily lives as if this goes with the territory. Mass evacuations have not taken place. Volcanologists note that there are no signs of unrest at Vesuvius at the present time. An estimated one million people live in the area of past eruptions. This does not seem to hurt the real estate market.

Man has always been tempted to dream of gigantic projects and carry them to a conclusion. The tallest building is never the limit. The biggest canal is never wide enough for our huge tankers. The oceans once beyond our reach are being dived into and harvested for their minerals. In the long term, it is now Mars and the planets beyond. How far is “how far” and what are the limits of infinity; I am sure a scientist has an answer for all the preceding. Indeed, we are trying our best to mimic what our Creator has made with His Hands.