Out Our Way: Forever

Out our way, the days and the trails can get long. I confess that sometimes Charlie and I rode what indeed seemed to be the “everlasting hills” for they just went on and on and on.

Of course, Charlie knew the trails and so he was well-aware of where the trail ended — but for me it just seemed to go on and on into eternity. I mentioned this to “Doc” one time as we rode up a ridge and looked on more ridges and pasture and cattle seemingly all the way to Canada and beyond. Being a novice cowpoke, I was saddle sore, weary, and starting to feel aches in places I didn’t even know were places.

Doc had a peculiar hacking cough at the time — or so I choose to believe — although, by its timing, I wouldn’t swear it wasn’t a laugh — and he had a beaut that day on the ridge that shook his whole body — and mine. For Doc had been raised in this country and was used to the broad vistas I have come to call “The Big Open.” Though it appeared to have no end, Doc, like Charlie, knew better. If this was my concept of infinity, it was far too finite.

Infinity is something that exceeds the grasp of the human mind — or horse’s — but we can at least recognize that our limitations in understanding or comprehension do not change the reality of God’s everlasting nature. No one knows how large the universe is — or if that is even an appropriate term — for from our tiny world view, its vastness has no end. No wonder if we cannot conceive the length and breadth of creation — we have trouble conceiving of the infinite and everlasting nature of the Creator.

The Lord’s Prayer ends in some versions with the words, “For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.” Try to fit your head around that and the vastness of the view from Tiger Ridge is really put into perspective. Try to grasp the infinite power of God, not to mention His Nature — and we all may start “coughing” like old Doc as we realize the impossibility of the task.

To grasp the infinite nature of God, the extent of His reign, power and majesty is beyond our best attempts. Some folks are so limited and overwhelmed they seek to deny it all together. A friend sent me a cute e-mail of one of those cartoon characters — “the Minions” showing joy at the concept of God’s love for us — and I was amazed at the number of people who wrote angry, insulting and impassioned tirades against the cartoon — and above all the idea of God. One woman wrote that the Bible was as ridiculous and fake as the Where’s Waldo books. Others wrote their disgust with God and anyone who believed in Him. And still others chastised all believers as mental midgets and imbecilis.

I shared those coments with Doc and he had an even bigger “coughing fit.” When he calmed down and I allowed him to graze a bit, he commented something to the fact that although he supposedly only had a brain the size of an orange, he was amazed to discover he was far more open-minded than the folks that attacked the happy Minion’s statement and those who appreciated it.

“Why did it upset them so much,” he asked, “unless the statement of faith hit a really sensitive spot … perhaps their own deep fear that God is real.”

I had to ponder on that as I rested my self on the grass and chewed a blade while Doc grazed. Indeed, why would it matter what others believed if they were truly secure in their own disbelief? I recalled when a small cult formed around a man of questionable sanity who claimed that there was a space ship in the tail end of the Hale Bopp comet come to take him and his followers away to a new planet. I was surprised but not threatened by this teaching. So why would these folks find the “Minion” statement of faith so disturbing?

The answer is summed up in a German theological world: “Umwelt.” It means literally “surrounding world” and refers to the extent of our finite reasoning. Think of a “bubble” surrounding us. Our “reality” is limited to that which is inside the bubble. The bigger the bubble, the more of reality we can conceive. The smaller the bubble, the more limited our ability to comprehend. These unfortunate souls demonstrated a very small bubble of reality — and were clearly threatened by the idea there was something beyond their limited reality — more outside their limited world than they dared consider. As Shakespeare’s Hamlet noted: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in your philosophy.”

And so, despite my attempt to be constantly expanding, my “umwelt” — my “bubble” — is still far too small. The idea of the “kingdom, power and glory” being “forever” is still a statement I make by faith and not by sight, for the vastness of creation — let alone the Creator — is beyond my limited ability to really comprehend. But ole Doc just accepts it as fact and grazes gratefully in peace. What he does not know he trusts God does — and is content in the knowledge. A brain the size of an orange, perhaps — but an “umwelt” that dwarfs Montana. “Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.” I don’t have to fully understand or comprehend what all that entails — merely accept it and be blessed. 

Blessings.

Brother John Bruington and Doc

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Now and then I hear from folks who look to Doc — and sometimes me- with faith questions and we always answer directly, but sometimes they make a good subject for the column. You can get hold of us a [email protected]. Unless he has his nose in a bucket of oats I can promise a fairly speedy response.