MATHEMATICS?

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 31 July 2012

Hi all,

Today we have a look at logic, mathematics and the Scripture. What can maths have to do with Scripture? Well, God speaks of “unity”. Maths also speaks of unity. What’s the difference? That’s our meditation

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Tuesday, 31 July 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	MATHEMATICS?
Logic was never exactly my strength. Perhaps it was my sense of the macabre that influenced this. People would say that something was “so”. I would scratch my head and try and assimilate what I was being told. Then, after a quiet chuckle to myself, I would nod my head knowingly and think that if that’s what they wanted me to think, why not? Living under the apartheid regime, I became aware of things we were supposed to do, but didn’t. For me it was a total contradiction that black people were not allowed to live outside their “homelands”. Then the same legislators would hire domestic servants who had to live “on the property” in order to work the required hours. For me this was not only illogical, but hypocritical. What I found was that logic had little to do with reality and everything to do with politics. At School they would give us statements and ask if the conclusion was logical. For example we were asked to look at a quotation and say if it was correct. The statement was: - All Fords are motorcars. That is a motor car. Therefore it’s a Ford. It didn’t take long to spot the flaw in this “logic”. Logic fell apart when it came to Christianity. We were taught, quite correctly, that we were all “children of God”. But when it came to church attendance, there were different buildings for different ethnic groups. So although we all had the same God and were all equal in His eyes, some of us were more equal than others. Strangely enough, even after the collapse of the apartheid government, the old systems didn’t fall quite as quickly. The old system had kept apart the “rich white minority”” from the “poor black majority”. The result was that although in theory anyone could come and go as they wished the distinction between rich and poor had more to do with race than anything else. Phyllida and I remarked on the fact that sadly, although the country’s motto was “Unity is Strength”, there was very little unity in South Africa. In those days, Phyllida and I were living in Worcester taking care of a small congregation for the Methodist Church. Our superintendent was Rev Joe Mpanza. He was responsible for all the Methodist Churches in our circuit. But the workload for him was impossible. So he more or less left us to our own devices with the small “white” and large “coloured” congregations. Theoretically, in April 1994, all this changed. Legally there was unity. But in practice we remained unchanged. Very quickly, we learned that you cannot legislate unity. You cannot compel people to come together. The best you can do is set the example in your own life and in your relationship with others. But the whole thing was a minefield. Everybody was looking at everyone else trying to spot flaws in character and behaviour. They were easy to spot. Our cultural differences seemed to be gigantic. The hurts of the past were astronomical. I remember talking to an elderly coloured gentleman. He told me with tears in his eyes how he went to work one morning and found he was no longer permitted to use the footbridge over the railway line. It was for “Europeans Only”. There were many similar stories. Somehow we had to work our way through this. To this day we believe that Jesus Christ empowered us to embrace each other. No, it wasn’t easy. But it was very much worthwhile. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			3MATHEMATICS? Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; Ephesians 4:3-4 TNIV 18 Through Christ we both come to the Father by the power of one Holy Spirit. 19 So you are no longer strangers and outsiders. You are citizens together with God's people. You are members of God's family. 20 You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building. 21 The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord. 22 And because you belong to him, you too are being built together. You are being made into a house where God lives through his Spirit. Ephesians 2:18-22 NIrV A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David. 1 How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the LORD has pronounced His blessing, even life everlasting. Psalms 133:1-3 NLT 22 Love each other with a warm love that comes from the heart. After all, you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth. As a result you have a sincere love for each other. 1 Peter 1:22 GW	I know when I was very young; I had to go to school. And in that fine establishment, I learned the golden rule. They said what was important, and that I had to learn. So when my schooldays ended, I could go out and earn, Sufficient in the first place for just supporting me. And then a little later, for all my family. I didn’t really grasp it. I knew we needed cash. But never that without it, my life on earth would crash! That this was fundamental; and no one was excluded. The fact is, that if finances are totally denuded, The outlook for the future was best thought of as bleak. And that the way to put it right, was for a job to seek. They taught me mathematics, that one plus one is two. But that was not sufficient. I also had to do, Many things with figures – I don’t mean female shapes. But adding and subtracting and other mental japes. Like messing on with fractions to find the LCM. But through the intervening years I can’t remember them. I learned about log-tables and trigonometry. About a man called Euclid and his geometry, About the hippopotamus, and sons of all the squaws; Pythagoras discovered it along with other laws. I started with the calculus and differentiation. And that there’s nothing racial, when we speak of integration. I also loved the Scripture and knew about St Paul; Of Adam and King David and of mankind’s dreadful fall. I learned about Christ Jesus and His victory on the cross. And wondered why they said He’d won. To me it looked like loss! Then I got very puzzled for one and one was two. At least that’s what the teacher had said was always true. But then I found a problem, which mathematically, Seemed a contradiction of what was taught to me. I found from God’s perspective that one plus one was one. That’s when it seemed impossible for me to carry on. The point is. God was speaking about our unity. But I’d been taught in college, that mathematically, That unity was number one. That one and one made two. But God had contradicted our mathematics view! That one, plus one, plus one, plus one equates to unity. It’s only in my golden years that this makes sense to me! God wasn’t speaking numbers, but linking human hearts. For it’s in our agreement, that unity first starts. And when we’re all likeminded, we’ll certainly agree, That one plus one, plus Jesus is always unity! Jim Strickland Written 31st July 2012