Random Thoughts

An eclectic collection of thoughts that have been roaming through the lonely corridors of my mind lately:

• I am extraordinarily thankful for the sovereign grace of God over the auto accident that my 16 year old son Matt was involved in yesterday. A pretty major collision on a city street, likely totalled out the car, spun 180 degrees in the street after the wreck. Air bags deployed in the other car, front end smashed. A young girl (daughter of friends of ours) on a bicycle near the accident who left the scene unhurt. As did Matt and the driver of the other car. I keep thinking about potential "what ifs" that God saw fit not to allow to happen. What if Matt had one of his friends in the car with him, sitting on the passenger side where the impact was? What if the accident had happened a couple days ago when Matt took his sister shopping? What if all the glass on the passenger side had shattered all over Matt (none of it even cracked)? What if the driver of the other car had been seriously injured? What if Matt hadn't been able to avoid the girl on the bike? What if...? Praise God that He is graciously sovereign over all these and infinitely more details. God never has to deal with what ifs...
• In the endless messages we keep hearing about the need for health care reform in the form of Obamacare, one common talking point is the need for increased competition among insurance companies. The fact that some insurance providers have virtual monopolies in some locations, driving costs up and limiting care options. But in doing some reading on this subject, it seems that one of the main reasons for lack of competition in some geographical areas is...government regulations. Regulations that limit insurance companies from providing coverage in multiple states, etc. In fact, I came across this recently while helping son Mike find a cheap but appropriate health insurance plan. The first question all of the insurance sites asked was: what's your zip code? So Mike, who's living in California right now but will be moving to Chicago next summer to start seminary, will need to cancel his current policy and apply for a new one when he relocates. Does that make sense? So why not remove some existing regulations and see how that changes things, rather than adding a couple trillion dollars more?
• Feeling rather challenged as I begin working on developing a study of the epistle of Jude. Not challenged in what the letter says, or how to exegete its meaning or context or such. But challenged in how to bring the warnings against and condemnations of apostate and heretical teachers in the church into our postmodern 21st century, and do it faithfully. Without making up my own personal laundry list of popular apostates and telling people to avoid them, but instead giving them principles and tests to determine for themselves who is orthodox and who has left the tracks. Without offending those who are "likers" of certain pop-heretics and being labeled as a "hater", but still sounding the warning that God intended through Jude's letter. It's always the application that's the hard part...

See, I told you it was eclectic. Or maybe random is a better term.