Geocentrism

Johannes Kepler 1620
Artist unknown

         The belief that the Sun revolves around the Earth has been dying ever since Copernicus, Kelper and Galileo introduced the heliocentric model of the universe. I say dying because lingering still in our language is the shadow of turning of thoughts of geocentrism. After all, do we really think that life does not revolve around us? Think about it. When they say "it's not all about you", they are confused, because it obviously is about you. Really, I guess, it's about me. But the fact they have to say that means there lingers that "center of the universe" thinking.  The proof of all this insanity hit me like a train from behind, just when I thought I had it all straighten out and I was not the center. One of our young men, we will name him Bob, was delivering a word about opportunity. He was drawing his scripture from Joshua 10, you know the one that proves the Earth is the center of the universe. Joshua, to ensure he got the full victory that God ordained, commanded the Sun and the Moon to stand still. JOKE: The country Judge arraigned a local bootlegger before him named Joshua. Noticing how nervous the country boy was, he said to him, "Are you the Joshua that made the Sun stand still?" The country boy answered nervously,"No sir. I am the Joshua that made the moonshine!" (This joke gets more laughs in the South).  Anyway, the very thought that the Sun should "stand still" reveals the confusion. Of course we would say that the author of the book of Joshua lived long before Kelper and did not know that the Sun doesn't move in relationship to Earth. We all know that! But do we? When we read that do we realize the Sun does not move! He couldn't have stopped the Sun in the heavens. What he did stop was Earth's rotation! But doesn't that mean that Joshua and company would go flying off in a easterly direction? That was Bob's response when I told him the truth. His immediate inability to accept that, was a give away. God can stop the Sun and Moon but can't stop Earth's rotation without messing things up. We like things to make sense. After all, our deep belief that the sun does "rise" in the morning and "set" in the evening has order to it. Poets and artists have made their living from that. How romantic is it to say, "Honey, let's take a bottle of wine and go down by the sea shore and watch the horizon rise." Just doesn't have the same feel. It's better that Joshua stopped the Sun than to think he could stop the horizons from moving. It takes less faith. The other demands a greater miracle and if my mind says it can't happen that way, well we know what and who orders my days, my beliefs, my outlook, yeah me. It is all about me, remember. Joshua made the Sun stand still, that's that.

       But the point of the sermon Bob brought was that Joshua took advantage of the opportunity God had given him (Joshua 10) to destroy his enemies and he availed himself of that opportunity. He really did not care about the physics. He was concerned about doing God's will. And maybe that is the real message here. Knowing that the miracles we need to accomplish God's will in our lives should not rely on our understanding. Yes, I admit it. I can't understand it all. God, who can throw stones from heaven and stop time to help Joshua, can affect things in ways I can not comprehend. And that is a good thing. I know if I want to make the most of my time and execute God given opportunities, I will need miracles. And it is good to know our Father is ready and willing to help us, if we do not put our faith in physics or science but in Him.  The opportunities of God in our lives have to be bigger than the miracles needed to accomplish them. Stopping Time was less important and less of a problem for Joshua that fulfilling the will of God. Please help us not have the attitude of an old country saying, "I'll getter done, God willin' and the crek don't rise." God will help us "getter done" regardless of the creek er ah crek. That is what we learn from Joshua 10. Thanks Bob.
Postscript:  We pray for those people caught in the rising waters of the Mississippi. We believe that God will open doors of opportunity for their safety and well being.