The basketball and the clarinet

Imagine being Michael Jordan - incredible at basketball - yet feeling like you needed to excel at being a clarinet player.  You might go through life shooting a few hoops but you would train, train, train during your clarinet lessons, hoping to be the very best you could be, in order to live up to the expectations of others.

Meanwhile, your natural gift would languish, harpooned by those very expectations.

Carl Rogers is a writer whose writings I love.

By the way, he is the father of modern American psychology (and studied to be a Lutheran minister at one time).

He posits an interesting question for his readers: what is the meaning of life?

As Christians we understand the answer to be obvious but listen to how he answers the question, what is the meaning of life?

"To be that self which one truly is."

I'm sorry but that knocks my socks off and sets my hair on fire simultaneously.

I think it is truth that we Christians need sorely to hear ... no, not just hear but hear and digest.

He goes on to say that 'one is never more strong than when one is fully one's self'.

I think this has powerful ramifications for those wanting an authentic walk in Christ ... not an experience that has a shelf-life of just a few years.  If you achieve authenticity in your life in Christ, you can fully expect to navigate life's mountains and valleys well (notice I said navigate, not avoid) and reach life's end stronger than you started.

You just have to relax into God's natural gifting for your life.

You need to put down the clarinet and start playing basketball again.

If you are a writer, write.

If you are a musician, play.

If you are a businessperson, deal.

If you are a chef, cook.

If you are a speechwriter, write speeches.

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  When you embrace who you are in Christ, your light will never show more brightly.  Your organic attributes that God put in your DNA will blaze forth, sending his fragrance everywhere.

In other words, being yourself is godly.

Here's some homework ... consider what I have said then apply it to your life by asking God to show you if there is any truth in it for you.

See you at the game!

(follow me on twitter!  connect with @Blankenthoughts)

Seriously ... just let go

It was 2005 ... I was traveling from Nashville to a small village in France to give my daughter away in marriage.  I had my wife, son and a friend with me.

The flights were booked so that there was not a great deal of time after we were scheduled to arrive until the ceremony was to occur.  No margin for delays, in other words.

And we were marooned in DC, unable to continue to NYC where our flight to Paris awaited.

Ground stop.

Nothing taking off and nothing landing due to weather.

I remember pacing around the airline lounge saying to myself something along the lines of:

'God, how come I am going to be the only Dad on the planet to miss my daughter's wedding?"

"Why me?"

"I cannot believe this!"

"Of all the rotten luck..."

It was a highly anxious moment of time for me.  Highly anxious.  Stress was breaking the speed limit inside my brain.

I prayed ... I fretted ... I prayed a little more ... I fretted a lot more.


I checked the airline's info line 5 million times for updates.

I incessantly worried the gate attendant with my non-stop 'can we take off yet?' questions.

If she had turned a Taser on me, I wouldn't have blamed her.

The situation was so out-of-my-control that it was ludicrous.  I simply had no way of controlling the situation and that was paralyzing.

As I was reaching yet another freak-out point, in my spirit, I heard the following words ... "Just let go ..."

It was as if a piece of mining equipment that had just flattened me was immediately removed.  The out-of-control internal stress finally obeyed a stop sign.  Peace replaced chaos and fear.

You know how stories like these end ... we made the plane and all was ok.

But what made a lasting impression on me was how little control we have over anything in our lives.  Oh we may think we exert great control but it is a cruel illusion.

That's why it is so logical, wise, smart, sensible, well-advised, solid and excellent to let go.

Constantly.

Let go and cede your worries to the One who truly has control.

Can you do it?

The Godliness of Being One's Self - Part 3

... or ... To Tree or not to Tree, That is the Question


“A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying Him….  The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him….” – Thomas Merton

Are you funny?

Go with that!

Has God made you analytical?

Go with that!

Do you love entertaining in your home?

Do that!

Has God gifted you with a musical ability?

Own it!

Do you like to write?

Please ... identify with that!

Whatever abilities or personality traits God has invested in you, be that way!

Here's the funny way God has constructed the human personality: the more you own who you are and become congruent with your essence, the better you become in every way possible.

When faced with anxiety-provoking situations, I often calm myself by reminding myself of the following 3 words ... " ... just be yourself".  It produces an almost palpable calming effect on me.

Be yourself.

It is a very overlooked way to praise God.

Simply be yourself.

Combing your hair with a bulldozer

Some things you just never see.


I have never seen someone try to drink a glass of water by soaking their hair in it.


I have never seen anyone try to eat a piece of lumber, after shaking salt and pepper on it.


I have never seen anyone try to use a coffee cup as a shoe.


I have never seen anyone try to fill up their car's gas tank with tomato ketchup.


Why haven't I?


Because none of these actions make sense, in any way, shape, form or fashion.


Similarly, Luke 8:16 continues my thoughts:


“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. "


Why not?


For the same reason one does not make a parachute from lead ... it just doesn't make sense!


OK, blog-readers ... listen up!


You've been given some gifts by God ... I know it ... you know it.


And you may not have been using your gifts ... and ... wait for it ... God says that just doesn't make sense.


He gave gifts to you for a reason ... not for you to archive rather for you to put in motion.


He gave you a baseball bat not to waste away leaning in a corner but to swing at baseballs.


You wouldn't water your tomato plants with gravel ... wouldn't make sense.


Neither should you watch the special abilities God with which God has entrusted you, atrophy due to lack of use.


Just do it  ... that is what makes sense. Ya think?

Masters of exclusion

Something has been on my mind for a while ... why are churches, indeed, the entire raft of Christianity, so focused on defining the basis for excluding others?

Why does much of Christianity seem so locked on to who is not in the club rather than lifting up the life-giving aroma of Jesus Christ?

Why are we so well-versed, indeed, astute, in how to bar others at the door?

I heard a wise man once say that the last thing a drunk needs to hear is that he is a sinner and has a problem.

He knows he is a sinner.

His problem is how to get well, not understanding that he is sick.

What brought me to Christ?

The life-giving reality of a deity who actually existed and would relate to me.

Trust me, screaming at me that I was a sinner and damned to eternal hell-fire would not have yielded a good result.

Lifting up Jesus Christ did, however.

Is there something for us to consider in all of this?

Maybe it has to do with not being a master of exclusion.

Set your heart on being a light to the world, rather than a baseball bat clubbing the world.

Commerce, Sleep Deprivation and the Messiah

I was reading in Luke this morning and noticed something.  I am always on the lookout for the twists, the nuances, the often-hidden aspects of the Word because, hey, that's how he wired me.

Anyway, in Luke, it says Jesus called Peter while Peter was sleep-deprived. Skeptical? Whip out Luke 5:5, then come back to me.

But the real eye-opener for me today was that Jesus performed a commerce miracle for Peter as a way to say, thanks for letting me use your boat.  He brought about an economic blessing ... it was the equivalent of a marketing campaign suddenly performing 100 times greater than it ever had, due to the Messiah's touch.

I wonder sometimes why this choice of miracle?  Surely there are many categories Jesus could have picked from ... each would have been equally astounding.

Why a commercial miracle?

Here's my take: because it would move Peter the most, the quickest, at the deepest level.  An economic anomaly.

Remember, his marketing campaign had been flat-lined all night.

Did it move Peter? Well, he ended up on his knees. You draw the conclusion.

Don't restrict God's hand to non-economic activities.  Don't be reticent to pray over your business(es).  Don't suffer a poverty of faith when it comes to commercial activities in which you are engaged.

What kind of event brought about by the Messiah will bring you to your knees?

Think about that.

Complaining 101

In reading the Word this morning, I was in the Old Testament.  The Old Testament is a fascinating place to read.

At any rate, Israel was wandering in the desert and their only sustenance was manna.

Problem is, they wanted meat.  Tired of manna.  Need meat.

So they complained.  They were sick of manna. They missed Egypt's restaurants.

Apparently, this is a side of human nature God doesn't like very much.  This is just a crazy guess on my part but my first clue was when he sent fire to consume part of their camp in response to the belly-aching.

I complain ... not a huge complainer ... but I complain about various things in life ... various people, etc

Sometimes I complain about every atom within a hundred miles of me ...

It seems to me that if you live in a fallen world, complaining would be a natural response ... you are simply reacting to the sub-standardness of it all.  My initial thought therefore is that complaining is a natural part of life.

And maybe part of that is true.  But now my task is to figure out God's view alongside my view of complaining.

Here's what I have figured out:

Once we are in the Kingdom, our context changes.  The fallen world, as it were, stays the same but we become not of the world.  Sorta like a bubble appears with the Kingdom of God in it and now we are in that bubble too.

In that bubble, we are totally dependent on him.  He uses bad for good.  We are his lights.  All our physics change and our compasses get reset.

So, inside the bubble, how can we complain?

Oh sure, I know that bad stuff happens inside the bubble.  Yet, still, how can we complain?

He has provided faithfully manna for us daily but hey, I need ribeye.

Maybe we need manna and the ribeye will kill us.  Maybe he knows what is better for me than I do.

I am going to stay away from exhorting you not to complain ...  not my niche ... too predictable an end to this blog ...

But I do want you to consider what I have said ... and next time you are tempted to complain, buy some bubble gum instead ... ok?

The Godliness of Being One's Self

One of the most profound truths I have learned as I have matured in the faith is this: you are never stronger than when you are fully yourself.

I completely understand that this thought will send many ministers running for the exit after pulling the fire alarms.

I find this reaction sad because anything else often results in a short-term intensity with a long-term slowdown, in the life of faith.  If we teach folks that they cannot be themselves when they become Christians, we set the stage for internal chaos in believers.

I will go one further and state that unless a believer fully embraces and rejoices in who they uniquely are, they cannot mature past a certain level.  Indeed, they are, in my belief, dangerous.

I have heard many a teaching through the years that all have the same message, ostensibly based in Scripture (so were the Crusades, btw) but putting the same cruel twist in them.  Here's how it goes:

'Put on the mind of Christ - quit thinking in your own natural realm and put on his mind, not yours'

Folks, can you imagine how confused a new believer would be after listening to this? Let's see ... hmmm ... I'm not supposed to think ... or am I? ... wait a minute, Christ needs to be thinking, not me ... or is it the other way around? ... who am I anyway?

God has so beautifully orchestrated the Holy Spirit inside of us that he is co-mingled with who we are and transforms who we are.  We keep being ourself because ourself is always being transformed.  We do not consciously try to be someone else - we enjoy the transformation ride internally and keep being ourselves ... that way the transformation unfolds naturally.

And that is how we put on the mind of Christ, incidentally.

Here's another snippet that I often hear:

'Die to self! God hates your self - that is why you must die to it. Instead, let Christ be reborn in you.'

Again, scripture is quoted but the like fire, it can be harmful or helpful.

Dying to self means letting the inner work of the Holy Spirit proceed and in doing so, old ways, thoughts and habits are peeled away or transformed.  The self is died to. But that is simply another way of saying the self is transformed in Christ's reflection.

Any other way of interpreting it is fraught with danger - hmmm, let's see ... my self is bad so I must be someone else in order to be good.  I like broccoli so I ... gee whiz ... I need to now hate broccoli.  I have a natural authentic way of expressing myself but now ... oh no! ... that's bad! I need to speak like someone else.  I love hiking but ... I need to die to self ... darn! I need to give that up!

This is why it is so important to teach how to walk with Christ in an authentic way, not in a way that prizes soundbites over substance.

If you were artistic before you became a Christian, you won't lose that in your conversion ... God will transform that attribute and morph that quality into a Christ-touched artistic aspect.  If you were loved the puts and takes of the business world before you became a Christian, trust me, God will not suddenly exorcise that out of you.  Rather, he will bathe it with his Spirit and it will become a transformed and ultimately more satisfactory part of your being.

Or ... my favorite ... if you had a sense of humor before your Christ-encounter, he will not require you to chuck it overboard before you proceed in the faith.  He will use it to enhance your winsomeness and approachability.  You will be even funnier.

All of this lays the foundation for a strong and persistent life in Christ.

Today, be yourself!  And God will come through in living colors!

Starting the Day in the Midst of Torrents of Doubts

They rain down like cats and dogs.

They flood you like a super-sized firehose turned squarely at your face at full force.

They attack you like 10,000 bees are incensed that you inadvertently knocked down their hive.

They try to spiritually suffocate you, drown you, choke the life out of you, stop your heart and cripple you forever.  They are uninvited and you hate them yet they show up for dinner.

What are these wretched things I am speaking of?

Doubts.

In particular, doubts about God, Christ, the Bible, etc etc.  Is it all true? Am I a fool for believing all this?  How can I be intellectually honest and follow Jesus simultaneously?

And, quite frankly, Christian church history doesn't help a whole lot.  The institutional church has consistently opposed science.  Generations later, when the science was accepted, the church caved in and said, 'Oh ok, it was a correct world view all along ... sorry!'

But only after killing tens of thousands and upheaving societies.

That is another writing however, not this one.

I have personally had doubts about every aspect of my Christianity.  From A to Z.  Nothing excluded.

It seems that when I am in the midst of these, God somehow always provides a sign or a thought or a further enlightenment to rescue me.  He reminds me of something that has occurred to me in times past or arranges my present circumstances in such a way that my doubt lessens.

I have come to believe that it is part of the human condition to have doubts about our Creator's existence.   Or Christ's existence.  Or the Holy Spirit's existence.

Mainly because they are all invisible and we are all visible.  That sets the stage for doubt right from the starting line, doesn't it?

So what do you do when you start your day and squadrons of doubts assume attack formation around you?

Here are 3 things that might help ...

1)  Ask God to help you with your doubts - let's face it, we need to look to him for help in all our complexities ... and doubt is one of those complexities, right? Right!  So reach out and say 'Lord, help me with my doubts'.

2) Don't take a head-first dive into the pool of unrelenting guilt when you experience doubts.  It is part of the human condition.  You will have to deal with doubts so there is no need to feel less than or highly defective when these come upon you. As a matter of fact, if you really want to feel hobbled, try shouldering a fresh load of doubts AND guilt as you start your day.  If I was the devil, I would really like you to have these twin burdens on you each day.  Your effectiveness would be neutralized quite efficiently.

3) Above all, keep a clear head about you.  As you move through doubts, find a trusted friend to talk to.  Not one who will deliver 15 scathing rebukes in the first 5 seconds.  But one who is wise and loving.

Doubt of all sizes and shapes come with the territory, as we traverse the Christian terrain.

What do you do when doubts rain down upon you?

Incremental Word Absorption

So many things in life work better incrementally ... in other words, you do not have to try to do it all at once, but a little each day.  The tortoise and the hare, for example.

Hmmm ... seems that even the Creator took the incremental approach to creation (six days).

I get an amazing amount accomplished incrementally but fall flat on my face when I try to live a personal 'big bang' theory.

I am so struck by the power of daily letting God sprinkle your spirit with his Word.  In my own life, after fighting through doubts and fears and just general spiritual burn-out, this incremental Word absorption has kept me from ending up in life's junk mail folder more times than not.

Here's how I do it:

I use oneyearbible.net and work through it every day.  I may not read an entire day's reading for that day ... that is so ok!  There is no law here.

I ask God to speak to me through what I am reading.

More often than not, I realize something that puts gas in my spiritual car.  I will have a quickening, an enlightenment, a realization that encourages me, challenges me or simply motivates me.

Remember, I was born a skeptic.  So there are days when I read the Word that it feels like reading the nutrition label of a Quaker Oats box.  Not getting much out of it ... did you know that it is ok to say that?

Think critically about what you read ... the Holy Spirit is all mixed up with your interior life so you can trust your critical thinking. Remember, he is the helper.

Incrementally read the Old and New Testament.  Your personal tide will rise and with it, your boat.  I promise.

The Rooster, the Avalanche and the Snake

 Fear again is in the driver’s seat for Peter in Mark 14:56-72.

Not only fear, but anger also shows up at the party.  Lying also joins the activities. Not to be outdone, cursing also arrives however fashionably late.

Fear is like a huge black snake wrapped around your spirit, squeezing the life out of you.

Fear was a central guidepost in my life when I was younger and it forced me into bad decisions and many stupid actions.  It injected stress where stress did not need to be.  It caused me to be stressed 24 - 7.

Sorta like what was happening to Peter.

Fear is like an avalanche … once it gets going, it is a potent force, almost unstoppable.

Sorta like what was happening to Peter.

I would love to have jumped out of the crowd and said to Peter, “Hey, God hasn’t given you a spirit of fear, Peter!”

The rooster crowing turned the avalanche of fears into a torrent of tears.  Giving in to our fears is never our finest hour.

With God on your side and the Comforter in your heart, lean in to your fears today.  By that, I mean move toward your fears and watch the hand of God make you brave and courageous.

Today.

What the Deli Served in 0 A.D.

I understand what Peter did in Mark 14: 53-65.

He kept a distance between Jesus and himself, in order to try to figure things out.

The distance was built by fear, wasn’t it?  Fear was the master engineer of Peter hanging back.  Fear had the blueprints and designed the moment in today’s passage.

Later, the church was built on Peter and the apostles however, presently, he was failing the fear-test in a spectacular way.

If this situation was a deli, fear sandwiches were the only thing on the menu for Peter that day.

Fear is like a cold, freezing pair of hands squeezing our spirits.  

Fear has dread baked right into the middle of it.  Dread can rule our lives.  Dread can make us lose our dreams.  Dread can cause suicides.  

Peter was dreading what he was witnessing. 

When you give in to fear, it is like watering a poisonous vine that chokes any and everything in its path.  When you give in to fear, you fertilize the destructive vine.  It is like you are feeding the monster in the backyard.  Not smart.

Fortunately, as Peter becomes filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts, we see a movement away from what this passages outlines today.  He no longer is dominated by fear.  The poisonous vine dies and the Spirit ushers in strong, transformational courage.

The monster in the backyard evaporates.

What are you afraid of today?

Trust God today to give you the grace to face that one fear down and as you do, you will be ready to face down the next fear, then the next then the next.

And transformation will have arrived.

He is everywhere

I awakened this morning with a sense of Christ's presence everywhere.

He is in the morning mist
  he is in the evening pale
woven through all fabric
  grace rings like a bell

His eyes are stars a-blazing
  His voice is in the brook
He smiles from within the daisies
  He whispers from every nook

It occurs to me that we go to Olympic efforts to find him when we may just need to slow our minds and spirits for a bit to allow him to come into focus.

It reminds me of the old story told about the time when God was about to create man. He had gathered all the animals around him and asked where he should place 'the meaning of life'.  He said it had to be a place that was virtually undiscoverable.

The eagle answered, 'Place it in my nest on the highest mountain ... it will be really difficult for him to find.'

The whale responded, 'No, no ... put it in the depths of the sea ... think how hard that would be for him to discover!'

But the wise old owl finally spoke, 'All good suggestions but you need to place it inside his own heart ... he'll never look there.'

Do you ever slow down enough to sense what and who is all around you?



 

There's a new sheriff in town

There is a god in our nation called “Lord ReallyBusy”.

If you worship at his altar, you just might be so distracted that nothing else bothers you or is able to pierce the cloak of impenetrable activity that this god wraps around all its followers.

The kingdom of God is so unlike our normal inclinations.  Busy-ness does not equal progress, Being involved in a myriad of activities does not automatically translate into spiritual depth.  As a matter of fact, it just might keep your car stuck in the mud.

Jesus told Martha that she was simply doing too much.  She was involved in worshipping “Lord ReallyBusy” and not Jesus Christ.  (And she did not even notice it!) 

But what is really a jaw-dropper is when Jesus took Martha’s to-do list away from her and threw it in the trash.  Then he gave her a new to-do list.

It had only one thing on it.

According to Luke 10:42, the one thing was:

1)    Sit at my feet and listen to me.

There was no number two.  There was no number three.

Just number one.

What is on your to-do list today?

Dear God of Love, please incinerate my enemies!

OK, read the following verses then jump into my thoughts afterwards!

Luke 9: 51 - 56

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’* 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56Then* they went on to another village.


------
The disciples are at it again!

Apparently, that primal and foundational sin, pride, has jumped into their pockets as they move through the countryside with Jesus. Witnessing miracle after miracle and hearing the words of life from Jesus’ very lips seems not to have had quite the desired effect on this group.

When a village does not give Jesus the key to the city, how furious are the disciples! James and John then utter the immortal words, ‘Any problem with us asking that they be incinerated?’

The problem I have with this passage is that I see myself in it.

I get slighted and I need revenge. I feel insulted and I want someone’s head. I sense disrespect and look out jugular, here I come.

Pride is the gasoline in my engine when I feel this way.

I don’t see where Jesus reprimanded the village, he just continued his journey. Perhaps because he was hooked in to his Father’s more transcendent purposes?

Pride often retreats in the face of larger purpose. Higher matters always trump the smaller trivialities.

Pride causes all sorts of odd little behaviors in our lives. It is as persistent as a mosquito in the heat of summer.

Who has disparaged you lately? Who has not treated you appropriately recently?

What kind of fire have you wished on them?

May we see pride as the hobgoblin of those of us who seek Christ.

Daily be aware and repent. Allow the updraft of Christ’s purposes to help you ascend over small pettinesses.

It is the only way you can ever arrive at your Jerusalem.

Criticizing the Home Run King's Shoelaces

Jesus was SO not legalistic!

I had an uncle who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, in WW2. He fought valiantly and singlehandedly defended his entire company from destruction in Belgium. He was awarded many, many honors including the Battle Star and other medals.

He came back from the battlefront and lived a life of honor, raising a family and contributing to his community.

He loved God and raised his children in the fear of the Lord.

His church however refused to allow him to become a member.

Why?

He smoked.

One more time.

He smoked.

The way I understand the New Testament, with profundity, Jesus asserts to the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man, not vice versa.

Legalism always takes the vice versa.

Legalism criticizes the way a ball player ties his shoe laces a few seconds after that ball player hits a grand slam.

Legalism passes judgment on the CPR technique of a paramedic who has just saved the life of a heart attack victim.

Legalism finds a way to disapprove of the long-awaited Messiah because his followers ate some grain on the Sabbath.

Legalism always seems to find the tiny gnat while missing the Himalaya mountains.

Philip Yancey, writing of legalism, puts it this way: ‘The solution to sin is not to impose an ever-stricter code of behaviour. It is to know God.’

Do you find yourself wrapped around the axle of a tiny code of behavior that is insignificant in the larger kingdom of God? And do you use it as a basis for being judgmental and harsh on others?

If you find yourself drawn to obsessive criticism of others in the kingdom because they do not meet your standards, seek to know God more deeply.

Although a legalistic and critical outlook is difficult to defeat, it has no part in your new nature … ever.

Tolerating Ambiguity in Christ

GASP!

Ambiguity in our theology?

DOUBLE GASP!

You must not be a Christian! Our theology has to be completely explained, all corners completed ironed out and tucked in, the dust gone and the mirror free of any smudges.

Except it cannot be.

Even Paul recognized this ... ponder 1 Corinthians 13:12 -

"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

Here, let me translate ... there will be ambiguity in your theology. There will be parts of your belief system that you cannot explain.

Let me be more succinct.

Don't even try to pretend that you can explain every nuance of your theology because you can't. One day you can explain it all but by then you won't be on earth anymore.

Remember the movie, "Field of Dreams"? There was a line in the movie that 'if you build it, he will come'. It was referring to if Kevin Costner built a baseball field, he (Shoeless Joe) will come.

Often, theologians, teachers and preachers feel compelled to explain what clearly is unexplainable. So they start building a field (explaining), believing that he (the answer) will come.

Only often it doesn't.

But the power of Christ is not in explanations ... it is in his pervasively transcendent reality. The power of Christ lies not in a litany of details we give to clarify the kingdom ... it is in the overarching threads of himself woven deeply and broadly into our reality.

Can we tolerate ambiguity that the Word of God has assured us will be with us as long as we are on this earth?

I used to struggle with this.

Until one day, in business school, I was listening to an explanation about the causes of variability in the stock market. Here's the explanation:

A certain percentage of variability in the stock market can be traced to know-able events ... earnings, etc. Quite a large percentage of variability in the stock market cannot be traced to anything ... this is called 'systemic risk' ... what that means is that it simply cannot be explained.

And the professor did not feel compelled to invent an explanation for what was clearly unexplainable.

Hmmm ... so the unexplainable is woven even into our economic system.

Augustine, the father of theologians, was walking on the ocean shore and pondering over the truth, "three distinct persons, not separate, but distinct; and yet but one God;" and he came upon a little boy that was playing with a colored sea-shell, scooping a hole in the sand, and then going down to the waves and getting his shell full of water and putting it into the hole. Augustine said, "What are you doing, my little fellow? " The boy replied, "I am going to pour the sea into that hole." "Ah," said Augustine, "that is what I have been attempting. Standing at the ocean of infinity, I have attempted to grasp it with my finite mind."

Do not feel compelled to explain those parts of God's kingdom that are essentially unexplainable. Just let it go or take a risk and say those three words that will endear you to any seeker of truth.

Just say ... "I don't know".

You will have just aligned yourself with Scripture ... and ... you will find your credibility with an unbelieving world, zooming through the roof.