According to the ever reliable Wikipedia "...Diamond willow is willow distinctively shaped as the result of attack by fungus (Valsa sordida, and possibly others), which has resulted in a diamonding effect occurring in the wood of the shrub or tree as the tree forms cankers, or diamonds (elongated ovals with pointed ends), in response to the infection..."
This is another profound example for us from nature that "what doesn't kill you only makes you..." well, in this case, better looking. I kind of doubt that these diamond knots make the tree any stronger, but you get the point.
Just like the pearl, the beautiful stone that is born out of pain and adversity (for the clam), the diamond willow takes the fungus that life throws at it and turns it into something rare and beautiful.
Some people say, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
I say, “when life gives you fungus, make diamonds.”
Can you think of other examples of this principle that God has given us?
In the book, “The Shack” author William P. Young makes note of the fact that in Revelation 21:21 we see that the gates for New Jerusalem are made out of single pearls. He then connects that to Jesus through whom is the only way into the Kingdom of God.
Christ, through his suffering, made something rare and beautiful possible, hence the pearls as the way into God's New Creation. I think the gates of the New Jerusalem should be made out of Diamond Willow... not that I'm complaining or anything.
What do you think about this connection?
What did you think about The Shack?
How was that for you dad? Do you have any more leading questions?
6 comments:
I read a saying once that said, "When life give you lemons, why not go kill someone with the lemons...maybe by shoving them down his throat." It was a Jack Handy quote, and I thought it was super funny so I had to share. But that's more the viewpoint of the sadistic generation I'm sadly a part of...or is it? Duh duh duh...
I believe that over and over again, God has left evidence of himself in creation (see Romans 1:19-20)
As for my thoughts on "The Shack" may I refer you to the blog article that I wrote on the book
http://bryanens.wordpress.com/2008/05/17/the-shack/
Ha ha ha!
Thanks Bryan.
There's nothing quite like shamelessly plugging one's own blog.
I guess diamond willow is another one of these things that shows how differently God thinks from us. The uglier it is on the outside (and it is ugly and rotten-looking), the more beautiful the diamonds are. We don't take too well to ugly on the outside, and often don't look long enough to see beauty inside.
"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."
I guess it shows that those who look only on the surface miss out on the most valuble things.
Mr. Braun! Are making fun of The Shack in a fancy, large word sort of way!?
I have heard many negative comments about this book as of late and I'm interested to hear what you think! Actually!
I read "the Shack." You really have to throw away your preconceived notions and read it with an open mind and a fictional spirit. I don't know if that makes sense, but it's like reading the "Left Behind" series (which made WAY too many books in my opinion.) The whole premise of that book is someone's ideas and thoughts, it is not truth. There may be bits of truth, it may point to truth, it may have it's moments of revealing truth, but it is still fiction. I really liked "the Shack" because it gave a new perspective. It showed that God is not limited to our ideas but that he is who we need, not necessarily who we want, but who we need at that moment.
I think the biggest problem people had was God being expressed as a woman. I realize that God is spoken of in the masculine in scripture, and that God is, essentially, a masculine being, but God does have "feminine" qualities about him or women would not be made in his image, would we? So what's wrong with letting God be a feminine image to properly show that portion of his personality in a fiction book? I can see a problem if people say that God IS female and that is the real truth about God, but that's not what he's saying.
Those are my thoughts on "the Shack."
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