Day10 - Old Faithful....

[Image: Old Faithful, 2013, JA Van Devender]

⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

To tell you the truth, I was not impressed.

We arrived very shortly after "she" had spouted off already, so the only thing to do was wait the two hours (+ or - ten minutes) until the next scheduled event.

The Park Service does their best... they are geared for the thousands (millions?) who attend throughout the year and the facilities are nice and generally comfortable. They had to be on this day because the wind was whipping and the late May temperatures were anything but balmy. We fought off the boredom and "hung around."

The immediate location is not all that scenic, I mean, it is a volcanic crater. It's a bit unsettling to consider that the whole issue of the geyser is that water gets heated up, down there in that hole, by contact with hot volcanic lava. One wonders whether or not the next eruption might be a bit more spectacular than predicted. But, back to the point... "Old Faithful" is the draw... and it makes no pretense to beautiful surroundings, that is unless you like the vision and smell of sulphurous steam puffing out of various cracks and crevasses across a barren, chemical stained wasteland.

Well, right on time... she blew. There was a bit of huffing and puffing, a couple of false starts, some spitting and spewing, and then phoosh... the above photo says it all. That died down about as quick as it happened and.... that's all she wrote. The most predictable geyser in all the world kept her record building... and we all just looked at each other and said or thought: "That's it?"

For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, there is another "Old Faithful" which issues forth not so much with hissing steam and unsatisfying temporality... but rather with eternal vigor and satisfaction. "These words are faithful and true"... said "He who sat on the throne..." speaking immediately of the revelation given to John but by extension to the whole of revelation contained in the Scriptures of which Genesis and Revelation are fitting book-ends. And it is they, these words, to those who sit quietly and wait on the Lord before them, which will reward the seeker with inestimable rewards. Here we find comfort in the face of terror, wisdom to replace our ignorance, purpose when the world declares there is none, promises to sustain us, guarantees that will seal us, and the solid, undeniable assurance of the Holy Spirit speaking to us.

How can a book be "always new" to those who have read its words literally thousands of times? What is it about the strange "world" of the Bible (as Barth describes it) that reveals fresh facets to every inquiry? Why is its reading so able to communicate the impression of a supernatural experience?

The answer to those questions, and it is the same answer for all, is readily available in the book itself. The words are "God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:15-17). They have a supernatural origin and are the instrument through which supernatural communication is facilitated and accomplished. They are "faithful and true" regularly accomplishing their divine intent, completely trustworthy in their intended meaning.

The landscape around "Old Faithful" may be barren and stinky, but not so for God's Word. It is the pure, clean, crisp "breath" of truth and it is like taking a deep draught of pure oxygen for those who have ever experienced breathing such. The mind clears... the eyes see with heightened perception... a refreshing tingle pulses through our veins. They are indeed faithful in what they communicate because He Who is Faithful and True (the Father) is their source and He (the Holy Spirit) is faithful in taking His (the Son's) words and making them known unto us.

We don't need no stinking geyser (just kidding... you have to see Old Faithful if you ever get to Yellowstone) to impress us. We have the very words of life.