Over 7,000 Colors

Dear Jake,

I really wish you HAD named your last post "Sit in Datposition."  When I titled my last letter to you "Sit in Disposition" I wondered if anyone would understand my play on words there.  Thanks for understanding.

One of my favorite places in the world is Giant Sequoia National Park.  When you walk among those trees you start to remember that God is big beyond comprehension and you are small beyond comprehension, and somehow He calls us the pinnacle of His creation and tells us He loves us.  All that truth is overwhelming.  The places on this earth where mountains meet oceans are the places on this earth that I believe give us the closest glimpse into Heaven.

Created in the image of God we too cannot help but to create.  I remember walking into the St. Louis Basilica Cathedral for the first time when I was a freshman in college.  I will never forget the feeling of awe that I felt immediately upon entry.  That sense grew greater as I walked through the place.  According to Wikipedia: "The mosaics collectively contain 41.5 million glass tesserae pieces in more than 7,000 colors. Covering 83,000 square feet, it is the largest mosaic collection in the world." That said, it's also one of the most beautiful man-made places I've ever been.

A picture truly can not do it justice.
  When people work together,
we can make some pretty awesome things.

Isn't all of art sort of that way though?  Can't we look at art and ask, what value does that really have?  Sometimes we get really confused about what actually has value.  Remember when Jesus was eating at Simon the Leper's house just before Passover and this woman comes and breaks an alabaster jar of perfume and anoints him with it?  The people that were there immediately began to rebuke her saying that the jar could have been sold for over a years wages and the money given to the poor.  Jesus then explains that she understood something they did not.  Ultimately you can't waste your life, your valuables, your goods, your money, your self if you pour it out for Jesus.  To most, Jesus' body broken and blood spilled out for us seems like an extravagant waste.

We've been talking a lot about worship, the church, and theology.  I'm good with that, but I'm going to ask you some questions that seem a bit off topic.  Go with it where you please.

What role do you think sports plays in society today?  What role do you think sports should play in society?  What should define a catch in the NFL?

I look forward to hearing from you on Thursday.