THE CUTE & THE CRUEL

The Cute and the Cruel

It would be a cold heart indeed that doesn’t begin to gush at the sight of fluffy ducklings or a cuddly Christmas puppy. As I watched a wagtail chick in my yard cry out and flutter its wings while its mother fed it I thanked God for the ‘cute factor’ He has built into animal young. Think about how many bags of kittens and sacks of puppies that have been saved from drowning because of their built in ‘cute factor.’

I’m now at the age where I find babies and little toddlers cuter than ever. But what was with that king who wanted to put to death all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago? What kind of hardness of heart is this? It reminds us of that murderous pharaoh at the time of Moses! The ‘cute factor’ may or may not have played a small part in the infant Moses escaping certain death as he was ‘a beautiful child.’ Moses’ mother had a plan how to save her baby. That’s how come pharaoh’s daughter found the three-month old Moses in an ark among the bulrushes. ‘And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, saying, “This is one of the Hebrew’s children.”’ Exodus 2:6.

Cute as babies and toddlers are, we don’t find the ‘wise men’ lining up to take turns to hold Jesus and gush over Him when He was a young Child. Rather, we find the following, ‘And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.’ Matthew 2:11. Why the worship instead of hugs and kisses? The LORD through His prophet Isaiah some 700 years before the birth of Jesus answers this for us, ‘For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9:6.

The wise men recognizing the type of baby Jesus was did the wise thing when they worshipped the One who carries the government of the world upon His shoulder. For Jesus is the eternal Son of God now also in the flesh. Indeed Scripture says, ‘All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’ John 1:3&14a. As Mighty God He built the ‘cute factor’ into bird chicks, animal young, and human babies.

But what’s with the murderous mind-set of pharaoh at the time of Moses’ birth and Herod at the time of Jesus’ birth? And, while we’re at it, what’s with the cruelty of some people toward other people and animals, and the cruelty of some animals towards people and other animals? While commenting on Isaiah 11:6 John Calvin was asking similar questions about the animals, ‘Whence comes the cruelty of brutes, which prompts the stronger to seize and rend and devour with dreadful violence the weaker animals? There would certainly have been no discord among the creatures of God, if they had remained in their first and original condition. When they exercise cruelty towards each other, and the weak need to be protected against the strong, it is an evidence of the disorder which has sprung from the sinfulness of man.’ Thus, the ‘cute factor’ is from God, but the ‘cruelty factor’ was introduced into creation when man rebelled against God and is fueled by that rebellion.

God had put the newly created Adam in His Garden, letting him name the animals that surrounded him. The newly born Jesus, no doubt surrounded by animals, was laid in an animal feed trough. Shepherds (animal keepers) came to see the Baby Jesus, the ‘Lamb of God,’ as He lay in a manger. Born in a stable, the One who is able, to take all our sins away. Infinite worth, yet so humble a birth! Thank God for the first Christmas Day. Who would lift the Baby Jesus out of the manger and nail Him to a cross? Yet Jesus was no less innocent when He underwent the cruelty of His mock trial and real crucifixion at the lawless hands of men. But it was God who sacrificed His Son as the Lamb of God. For He had Him nailed to that tree to take away the sins of the world. The Older Testament sacrificial system illustrated the fact that ‘without the shedding of blood there is no remission.’ Hebrews 9:22b. Death by drowning or being burned in the flames would never do for Jesus. He had to shed His blood. ‘For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.’ Colossians 1:19&20.

The new Adam came to fix what the old Adam had broken (i.e., our relationship with God, each other, animals etc.) The Prince of Peace has brought us peace with God. Thus the cruelty factor is removed, by, in, and through Jesus Christ.

THE LOCUSTS OF AGING

The Locusts of Ageing

The Artificer created Adam mature from the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7). Then the Potter placed His clay-man in His garden to dry (Gen. 2:8; Job 33:6). The Anaesthetist put Adam to sleep and the Surgeon operated to remove one of his ribs to craft it into Eve (Gen. 2:21&22). The Marriage Celebrant performed the very first wedding between the couple of legal age (Gen. 2:22-24). Adam and Eve knew about ‘the birds and bees’ (2:19). Eve, like one of the Arboriculturist’s flowering trees, had been designed by the Geneticist to bear fruit of Adam’s pollination (Gen. 1:11,12; 2:9; 3:16; 4:1).

The Triune God, who, as such, is diversity in unity (and therefore ‘wears many hats’), formed all aspects of Adam and Eve perfect in the beginning (Gen. 1:26&27; 2 Cor. 13:14). Blessing the perfect couple God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ Genesis 1:28. Thus mankind (i.e., Adam and Eve and all subsequent descendants), like a bunch of grapes on the vine, was to mature with age. 

As ‘one bad apple spoils the whole bunch’ by spreading its decay, so Adam and Eve became over-ripe when they ate the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:6; Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21). Maturity turned to ageing when they turned their naked backs on God (John 15:4&5). As leafless tree branches in summer often show root problem, so their relationship with God was severed. Frostbite to their extremities exposes how cold they had grown toward God, for the icicled fingers of death clutch at the throat of every son and daughter of Adam from conception onward – including you and me today. Sometimes before, but after maturation comes degeneration – the time when the locusts of ageing begin to eat away our years. 

Medical examination points out macula-degeneration in one of my eyes and x-rays reveal disc-degeneration in my lower back. Age is catching up with me! Why can’t I be like cheese and wine and simply improve with age? Yet even cheese and wine reach a point beyond maturity – a point where they go off. Am I (and the whole rest of creation) beyond the point of no return?

Where do decay and corruption come from? Scripture gives this answer with its attendant joyful promise: ‘For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labours with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfuits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.’ Romans 8:20-23.

Not only does the Triune God ‘wear the hat’ of creation’s Creator, He is also creation’s Redeemer, and Regenerator. The Father is usually designated Creator, the Son Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit Restorer. If Adam is the ‘bad apple’ whose rot spread through the whole bunch, then the Son of God (as the new Adam) is the ‘good apple’ by which God saves His people and His creation from the end of that rot which is to be cast into the cosmic dump (Hell). The Holy Spirit gathers the apples chosen by the Father and paid for by the Son. Belonging to the great restoration their branches are engrafted into Christ the tree of life.

The Spirit works in the core of the His people’s being, planting the seed of His Word. And with His Word He regenerates, renews or re-births them – as Peter says, ‘having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word by which the gospel was preached to you.’ 1 Peter 1:23-25.

Dear reader, perhaps you have noticed that your flower is falling away – that your maturation has now turned into ageing and is now eating away your years. Then turn to the Lord and hear what He says to His people, ‘So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 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 2:25&26.

OUT WALKING...

Out Walking With the Lord

With a happy spring in my step I bob along a riverbank in heavy rain, as full of the Spirit of Christ as a balloon with air. Breaking the water’s surface tension are pearls innumerable rattling down from heaven. Lord, do You hear what I hear? Do You see what I see? Indeed You do! For, ‘The hearing ear and the seeing eye the LORD has made them both.’ Proverbs 20:12. Yes Lord, but are You able to hear through my ears and see through my eyes? Do You feel the cool sharp tingle of a raindrop as it hits the back of my exposed neck? Do You smell the earthy fragrances of the freshly baptised earth as its aromas rise to meet with my nostrils? Do You hear the gurgling rushing river as it rolls over boulders in its rush to gush over falls? Do You see the rugged beauty of it all – through my eyes? Lord, are You really in me?

If You, Lord, are with me, how with me are You? I know, ‘The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.’ Romans 8:16. And, I know that I am one of Your adopted children, for, praise Your holy name, I have been redeemed by the life, death and resurrection of my elder Brother, Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I trust Him alone to save me from Your coming judgment at the Last Day. Therefore, I don’t trust in my own feeble attempts at being good. But Lord, do You know the very thoughts and intents of my heart? Indeed You do! For, ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.’ Jeremiah 17:9&10. Then I thank You, Lord, for giving me a new heart, just as You promise in Your Word. Yes, thank You Father and Son for giving me Your Spirit who now leads me in the ways revealed in Your written Word. I used to suppress Your truth in unrighteousness, but now like a bubbling spring, praise for You gushes up from within me at worship, rest, and play! Yes, the clouds are Your chariot and You do walk on the wings of the wind!

Each Lord’s Day, in fellowship with others, I hear a portion of Your Word read, explained and applied to me. Your Word washes over me. I am a little pebble whose sharp edges are being made smooth as I roll down the river of life. As a mountain stream after rain I want to gush forth Your praises! Yes, ‘Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.’ Psalm 98:8&9. Father, I say with David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ Psalm 139:23&24.

‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.’ Psalm 46:1-4. Lord, plant me next to Your river that my leaf might not wither, that I might bring forth fruit in its season.

Now that the Word has become flesh and has tabernacled with us, may the Holy Spirit be pleased to tabernacle with me. For You, Lord, have opened my tent-flaps and have let Yourself in. Forgive the mess I have made of the perfect abode You had given me in the beginning along with Adam. Since Adam our representative rebelled against You in the Garden, our tabernacles have been in tatters, letting in rain and night creepers. I have feared darkness. I have feared death, but now fear these no longer forever. For, ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.’ Psalm 23:4.  In the gushing words of St Patrick, ‘Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.’

You have permitted me a glimpse through Your eyes as Your Father had You nailed to a tree to pay the penalty I owe for my sins. Lord, You said, ‘I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax, it has melted within Me.… For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones.’ Psalm 22:14&16. ‘For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.’ Hebrews 2:10.

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

TREASURE TROVE

Treasure Trove

‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ I remember as a teenager struggling to understand why gold, silver and jewels were considered precious. The sun glinting on gold was so much polished brass to me. Diamonds? Glorified glass! Rubies and pearls? Trinkets and baubles. Then as a mature adult, when I looked more closely I began to see what all the fuss was about. You could say that was when I lost my marbles, for ‘when I became a man, I put away childish things.’ You see, as an undiscerning youth I had likened the Bible to other books and Jesus to other men. Foolishness!

‘Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.’ Proverbs 3:13-15. The Bible is the Book of Wisdom and Jesus is that Wisdom in the flesh! To see the difference between a real ruby and a piece of worthless glass one must hold them up to the light. And while we’re at it, speaking of light, there’s candlelight, lamplight, moonlight and sunlight. And then there’s the God/Man Jesus, ‘the light of the world’ (John 8:2). Cubic zirconia may look very much like a real diamond in romantic candlelight, but everything fake and phony is exposed when held up to the light of the world. God shines His light through the prism of Jesus. In Him are all the colours of God’s covenant rainbow. Only at His feet is the crock of gold to be found.

The Bible is THE treasure trove and Jesus is THE pearl of great price! ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it’ Matthew 13:45-46. Some think this ‘pearl of great price’ refers to the Church, i.e., the ‘bride of Christ’,’ rather than Jesus, and that it was Jesus who gave up all He had to buy her. Either way, like a husband and his wife, the two are one. As He has given His life for her, so she is to forsake all others for Him. For Jesus says, ‘Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses His life for My sake will find it’ Matthew 16:25. Find what? The ‘pearl of great price.’ For He is the life! (John 14:6).

Jesus is also the truth. Therefore, it is against Him that we measure all truth. He prayed that His Father would do the following: ‘Sanctify them by Your truth, Your Word is truth’ John 17:17. Therefore, we are to use His Word to discern the truth from the lie, the fact from the fiction, the ruby from the rubbish, the treasure from the trash. Indeed, even light itself needs to be examined in God’s light, for the Psalmist says, ‘In Your light we see light’ Psalm 36:9b. The triune God is ‘the Father of lights’ from whom comes ‘every good gift and every perfect gift’ including the ‘pearl of great price.’

Jesus is the spade we use to dig for hidden treasure. He is the water we drink to quench our thirst. He is the lever we use to prise open the lid of the chest. He is the light we shine to see the jewels. He is the magnifying glass through which we view their authenticity.

Dear reader, do not trash treasure, for ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’ 1 Peter 2:7b.

WINDOWS TO THE SOUL

WINDOWS TO THE SOUL

I grew up in the same hometown as my friend Billy Scobie, (a.k.a. Alexander Tait, author of Whisky in the Jar, The Cup, Mightier Than the Sword, Upon This Rock). The town, the Vale of Leven, is located just north of Glasgow, where the River Leven flows out of Loch Lomond and into the River Clyde at Dumbarton Rock.

Billy posted the following on his Facebook page:

INFLUENCE FOR GOOD

Every day I look across the river and see the (apparently now derelict) Dalmonach Hall.

Those distinctive church-like windows remind me that, although originally built as a schoolhouse, it was in the Victorian era used as a Sunday School and Church Hall. I get to thinking about all these well-meaning generations of folk who tried to raise children to live Christian lives. I find myself wondering if their endeavours really made the world a better place. I am almost surprised to conclude that, all said and done, they probably did.

W. Scobie

The following is some of the thoughts Billy’s Facebook post inspired me to write:

Billy, (I’ll try to be brief as I know you’re not a fan of long-winded comments), but it is patently obvious that “all these well-meaning generations of folk who tried to raise children to live Christian lives … really made the world a better place.” (See what I did there?) 

The world is a better place because of Christ and the influence of Christianity, i.e., Christian (as in Christ’s) teachings. It’s as Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:33. Sure, there’s a big difference between someone being influenced by Christianity and someone being converted to Christianity. However, either way, both make for a better society. Whether the butcher, the baker, or the candlestick-maker, all strive to deal honestly and fairly with each other because they have been taught that selfishness is bad for self and for society and “loving your neighbour as yourself’ is good.

The secret for social governance is in self-governance. The influence of Christianity meant that we as individuals, and society as a whole, were all on the same (Bible) page. We were all singing from the same hymnbook. This is what we mean by freedom, both personal and public.

On a deeper level, the internal law that rules my heart matches the external law that rules society. (Both of which are based on a correct understanding of the Ten Commandments, justice and mercy etc., (i.e., the law of His Kingdom). Social cohesion and all of that.  However, social morals, (like the buildings in your picture above), whether obeyed in gratitude to God’s mercy or obeyed in fear of civil or criminal punishment or eternal, have been neglected and have become rundown, even dilapidated. However, the good news is that one can still make out “those distinctive church-like windows”, the ones through which we can see an encouraging past as well as a glorious future – if society moves in the right direction.

Like the Maid of the Loch paddling full-steam ahead towards Balloch Pier after an excursion up the loch, would suddenly stop those great paddlewheels and slam them into reverse, yet the boat still moved forward, so Vale society, (and indeed Western society) is still drifting forwards towards its destination. But society’s engines have slowed things down and the great paddles have churned the water into the foam and froth of social confusion.

I’m an optimist, a Biblical optimist! Though the Maid of the Loch has been out of commission for so many decades collecting rust, she will sail again. People cannot stand standing

idly by and watching our great heritage, the things that made us great and the envy of others, sink into oblivion. They will rally together. They will donate their cash and their time. They will advertise. They will refurbish. They will join with each other and form a community of hope. The community will expand, growing into a great tree from a tiny mustard seed.

God bless the Maid of the Loch and all who sail in her! And God bless His Kingdom and all who enter in – till the shadows flee, till all is leavened, the Vale, the whole world.

Just as individuals on social media brought to my attention (here in Australia) the sorry state and plight of the Maid of the Loch (– which now looks like it has been revived to the point of present and future happy days), so individuals, such as yourself, by your postings (such as the one above), may serve to revive a great interest in our Christian heritage.

May God be pleased to use you mightily in this endeavour.

Addendum: Neil, Thank you most sincerely for that wonderfully uplifting piece of spiritual writing ... It really has done me good to read it. I liked your use of the Maid of the Loch. Not only did I serve as assistant purser aboard her (season 1970), but she was launched the year I was born (1953), so I have a special feeling for that wee steamer. What seeds you sow with your words!

EARLY SETTLERS

Early Settlers

The life of the early settlers must have been rough and tough – all horses and carts, no running water or electricity, and sitting on chairs that would give you splinters! However, there’s something romantic about the days of the Afrikaner trekkers, and those American wagon trains, not to mention the free settlers in Australia. Yes, surely everyone has to stop at some time and put down roots. People must settle somewhere even if you’ve just disembarked a convict ship from Britain to the Australian penal colony. One version of The Wild Colonial Boy contains the words, ‘At the early age of sixteen years, Jack left his native home, and to Australia’s sunny shores he was inclined to roam.’ One can only imagine that if he had been an early settler and not a bushranger we might be singing a different song about him. Outlaws are nomads and nomadism began with Cain. However, it ends with Christ.

Is it a good thing to settle down in far flung places and to colonise empty spaces? It’s true that Jesus said, ‘The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head’ Matthew 8:20b. And it’s true that our father Abraham ‘went out, not knowing where he was going… dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God’ Hebrews 11:8b&9b. And didn’t Jesus speak of that same city with foundations, where He went on to say to His people, ‘In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would not have told you. I go to prepare a place for you’? John 14:2. That word ‘mansions,’ though sometimes translated ‘rooms,’ means dwellings. Wouldn’t you like to be an early settler in this place? If you think we live in luxury compared to the early settlers, then you cannot imagine what it’s going to be like in the city of God! ‘But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ 1 Corinthians 2:9. This residence is not some single room in a block of council flats in some social housing scheme. Therefore, doesn’t ‘mansion’ fit better here than any idea of a frugal pioneering homestead? And what about the ‘pioneering spirit’ of the early settlers, still seen today when whole communities pull together in fire or flood? ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Thus the early settlers by necessity.

But back to Abraham. Abraham wasn’t promised a seat upon a cloud up in the sky somewhere. God promised him the earth! ‘God promised Abraham and his descendants that He would give them the world’ Roman 4:13 (CEV).  Says Albert Barnes, ‘In this passage the world, or the entire earth, is regarded as the estate to which reference is made.’ Thus, Abraham, father of the faithful, was the ‘early settler’ for Christians. He staked his claim in the Christ to come, the One who said, ‘The meek shall inherit the earth’ (Matthew 5:5). And, just as your body will be renewed in the Resurrection, so will this earth. ‘The creation itself will also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God’ Romans 8:21. And, ‘Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells’ 2 Peter 3:13. Therefore, stake your claim in Christ so that you can be an early settler on the new earth. ‘For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come’ Hebrews 13:14.

IMAGINATION

Imagination

John Lennon of The Beatle’s fame invites us, in his aptly named song ‘Imagine’, to use our imaginations. Great tune, but I once refused to sing this song when I auditioned for a band because I’m not impressed with the lyrics: ‘Imagine there’s no heaven/It’s easy if you try/No hell below us/Above us only sky.’ Then what about imagining ‘No religion too’? Let’s see, for the sake of world peace Lennon wants us to do away with heaven and hell. And he wants us to do away with Christianity, which would mean that the world would have no Saviour and no solution for evil and therefore would never have peace!

It’s not ‘religion’ that causes wars. Rather war is an extension of the evil desires of the individual human heart. James in chapter four of his epistle explains it. ‘Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.’ James 4:1-2. War therefore has to do with breaking the 10^th Commandment, ‘You shall not covet…’ Exodus 20:17. Coveting is a yearning to possess something, such as a world with no heaven and no hell below us and no religion too, whether imagined by the individual or ‘the brotherhood of man.’ Therefore, if we covet world peace, then we are to begin by imagining that there is no God, i.e., the God who has revealed heaven and hell to us.

What does God have to say about those who try to imagine there is no God? ‘The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt … Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up My people as they eat up bread, and do not call upon God?’ Psalm 53:1a&4. Simply put, according to these verses those who covet a world without God are fools, they are corrupt, and they never call on God.

One of the main things that bothered me when I used to spend my time being a fool, corrupt and never calling on God, was the idea that the world, i.e., the cosmos or creation came from nothing. I don’t know about you, but my imagination does not allow nothing to become something. In fact, I find it impossible to imagine nothing, never mind imagining nothing somehow transforming itself into something! This is to go beyond imagination. It is to go ‘to infinity and beyond!’ to quote Buzz Lightyear. Space, time and matter are something, not nothing. These had to come from something. The Bible tells us that God is the eternal God who was, is and always will be. This God spoke, and things that were not became things that are. Or simply put: The Creator created creation.

Meanwhile back to ‘You shall not covet…’ As one Internet definition puts it: To covet is to ‘yearn to possess (something, especially something belonging to another). The Bible says, ‘The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fulness, the world and those who dwell therein’ Psalm 24:1. Therefore, you can use your imagination with all your heart, soul strength and mind, but you’re never going to get a world with no heaven, no hell below us, above us only sky, and no religion. Why? Because it’s not yours to have. It belongs to God your Maker. Therefore, if it’s world peace you’re after, wouldn’t you be better off by first seeking your own peace with God through Jesus Christ and then encouraging others to do likewise? Imagine that. It easy if you try.