180

The day of this writing is April 6, 2010. It won’t actually appear in What’s the Good Word until tomorrow, April 7, and those readers who subscribe by email probably won’t receive it until April 8. I don't know why, but even with rapid technology, some forms of communication just take longer I guess!

Today is exactly 180 years after the founding meeting of our church, the Community of Christ. Happy 180th Anniversary!

The world has changed a lot in the 180 years since 1830. We can still recognize remnants of that world, thanks to books, movies and our Old Order Mennonite neighbours. For most of us, however, the world of horse and buggy has been left far behind.

It is pretty easy to recognize that our world, the world of cell phones and satellites was totally unimaginable to even the most far-sighted inhabitants of that day. The idea of having a little device in your pocket that would allow you to talk, text or tweet with other people all the way round the world would simply be too fantastic to contemplate.

All this makes one wonder what amazing things will be everyday reality 180 years from now. For most of us, just like our ancestors, that world is probably just too fantastic to contemplate!

Between looking back 180 years and looking forward the same amount, we stand right in the middle. We are exactly where we need to be. We dare not live in the past, and we cannot live in the future. We can only live in the here and now.

All of this reminds me of a Charlie Brown comic strip I saw once. I share it with you here as a smile for the day. Charlie Brown was visiting Lucy in her “Doctor’s office” and was apparently depressed about his lot in life. Lucy said to him, “Charlie Brown, this is the only world you know, right? As far as you know, this is the only world there is, is that correct?” To these enquiries, Charlie Brown agreed. Lucy then shouted in a voice that knocked him completely off his chair, “THEN LIVE IN IT!”

Happy Anniversary, fellow time travelers!

Posted by Carman