AUGUST 2023

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The Faces of God by Seth Brown

On the Trails of Colorado

My wife and I were recently in Colorado trying to avoid some of the summer heat Oklahoma is known for. We love hiking on the Colorado trails. Unfortunately, she was in a boot with a foot injury and could not hike. So, I found myself out on the trails only with our faithful lab, Cliff.

Cliff is one of those dogs most people just like. He greets everyone with a whole-body wiggle and a slap of the tail. Everyone we met wanted to pet him. I do find this a little frustrating at times. I simply want to hike and enjoy God’s creation and not really stop and talk to people on the trail. But if you have Cliff with you, you are going to make some new friends.

Cliff and I were hiking an easy trail close to where we were staying. We passed a couple groups of people—all who had to stop and pet him. The next group we passed was a bigger group of young men. They were walking in two different groups but were together. They were all in their twenties or thirties. The unusual thing about the group was they had cameras—professional cameras that looked expensive. The first group nodded at us as they went past. They were in a deep conversation and clearly did not want to talk to Cliff or me. We got past them without my having to break out of my introverted shell! The second group was only two guys. One of them was carrying a camera and was recording the other guy.

They both stopped what they were doing and asked if they could pet Cliff. Of course, I said yes but warned them that he might lick them to death! The taller guy who was being recorded asked me if he could ask me some questions on camera for a documentary they were doing. I thought it a little awkward but agreed.

I didn’t know what he would ask, but I thought it would have to do with something about hiking or politics, but I was wrong. He wanted to know if I believed in UFOs. These guys had just come from the congressional hearing in Washington, DC and were full on all things about UFOs. I told him I wasn’t for sure what I believed about UFOs. I’ve never seen one and don’t know anyone who has, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

They were friendly young guys and, honestly, not all that crazy. We had a nice conversation, but I told them they were asking the wrong question. What they really should be asking is if there’s a design to all of this. That changed our discussion, but they didn’t shy away. I told them that people tend to find what they’re looking for. It also depends on the lens they view the world through. In broad strokes, there’s the lens of abundance and the lens of scarcity. If you believe the world is one created for abundance, you will generally find the world that way. The opposite is true as well. All in all, it was a pleasant discussion and Cliff and I finished our hike.

It did get me to thinking about things such as unexplained phenomena. I know that our brains are powerful computers and help us make sense out of the things we experience. There are times we have experiences that don’t fit into any normal categories and our brains will try to fill in the gaps. Maybe this is an explanation to the UFO question. Maybe people observe something (maybe something natural) but don’t have a category for it, so their brains try to fill in the gap.

But what about those spiritual moments? You know, the experiences you cannot explain completely. You feel a presence you can’t visually see, but you know something is there. Is it possible there’s a spiritual dimension that’s so close to us but just beyond our visual perception?

What was Moses’s state of mind when he saw the burning bush? Was he expecting to hear from God?

Is it possible that the more we look for (expect) spiritual things, the more we will experience? Do you expect to hear from Him?

How many things have I missed because I wasn’t ready to see them?

God is closer than we think! My prayer today is to have eyes that are ready to see and ears that are ready to hear.

Author: Dr. Curtis Brown

Legacy

As I have become the youth of old age, I have become more reflective. I think I have always had some thoughts about my own personal legacy, but as I get older and am burying family and friends, I’m thinking about it with a little more scrutiny and intensity. I do hope I have and will leave a trail worth following. I think most men would desire the same.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about my motivation, my why. Why is having a good legacy important to me? Knowing your why is of most importance. It’s what will keep you motivated when things get challenging—and things will get challenging!

I meet with four other men routinely, and we were having a conversation about this subject. One of the guys mentioned or said something like, “Maybe we are to live and love God with all we got, die, and then be forgotten.” Those were not his exact words but rather my paraphrase of what he said. Love God and love others is the greatest commandment. But die and be forgotten? Who wants to be forgotten?

As it happens, I had recently been reading about the Tower of Babel story in the Bible. Actually, I think I was listening to a podcast, but heck, I’m older and can’t remember which it was! In any event, the discussion was brought out on the reason they were building a tower to the heavens. The Scripture says it was so they could build a name for themselves. So they could be remembered. In a way, it’s trying to satisfy this craving we all have for eternity. They were wanting to create a legacy that would last longer than they would live. God decided that was not all that good of an idea. There is much more to the story than this, but God shut the project down.

This got me to thinking about my own tower or legacy. What is my real motivation to wanting a “good” legacy? If I’m honest, I think one of my prime motivations would be so that I was remembered. Now, being remembered is not all that bad, especially if you’re being remembered for good things. But shouldn’t my primary motivation be for the love of God and others? I think at times it is, but I know there are moments in my life when I simply want to be remembered for who I was.

There is something about being remembered that evokes an essence of eternity. But how many of you knew your great-grandparents? I struggle remembering their full names, much less anything else about them. How many people will really remember you and all your idiosyncrasies? How long will they live?

I believe all things exist through and by our Creator. I want to change my focus, my why, to the one that truly remembers. He knows everything about me and still chose me and still loves me. He will know me a thousand years from now. It is in Him we should all find our legacy. He is our legacy. He is the only thing that really matters. He is our why.

Love God with all you got, love others, die, and be forgotten by this world that is passing away; be remembered by our eternal Creator. He is our legacy.

Author: Dr. Curtis Brown