Three pillars

This week we are in Sam Roi Yod for the annual gathering of or MB workers from Thailand.  Yesterday afternoon, we had a some time to explore, so we went with a couple of other people to visit Phraya Nakhon cave.

You can't drive to this cave, one either has to take a boat or walk over a hill to a secluded beach, from where you can walk about half a kilometer up the hill to the cave. We opted to take a boat.

On the boat to the cave

Phraya Nakhon cave is the most accessible and most visited of the three main caves in Sam Roi Yod (Three hundred Peaks) National Park.  It has been visited by three of Thailand's kings.

Royal graffiti from 1926

Paraya Nakhon cave does not have a lot of stalactites and stalagmites as compared to some caves, probably due to the fact that the roof has long ago caved in in two places, leaving it open and well lit, for the most part.  But there is an area where there are three pillars, or columns as the covers would call them.

Three Pillars

When I look at the three pillars I am reminded of a couple of important threes.  The main one that comes to mind is how we describe God as a trinity, or one God in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.  But the other thing I am reminded of is three pillars of our faith.

First, God.  God is the center of our faith and it is all about the worship of Him.  God is central, not us.  God existed before there was anything and will keep on existing through eternity.  That's a long time, especially in light of our relatively minuscule lifespans.

Second, the Word of God, or scripture; the Bible.  It is though the revelation from God that we know more things about God than we can just glean from observing creation--although there is quite a lot that can be ascertained about God from observing the things around us. As Paul writes, "For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen because they are understood through what has been made." (Romans 1:20, NIV)

But God to chose to reveal Himself to us through the prophets and through Jesus and so we have recorded many things about God.  As the writer of Hebrews puts it, "After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us in a son..." (Hebrews 1:1, 2a, NIV). While we cannot know everything about God (for we are not God), we can know some things about Him.  If there is revelation, we can know some truth.  (If there is not revelation, Christianity is a farce.)

Third, the Church, the Body of Christ.  While Jesus ascended to heaven, He left behind the church as the visible representation of Christ in the world.  As Paul writes, "Now you are Christ's body, and each of you is a member of it." (1 Corinthians 12:27, NIV) I won't go into detail about this other than to say how amazing it is that God chooses to use differently gifted, ordinary people to do His work in the world.  We don't always get it right, but when the church functions as one body with Jesus as the head, amazing things can happen.

God is there.  God revealed Himself though the scriptures and through His Son, Jesus.  God continues to be present in the world today as the church.  Three pillars of the faith, of which I am reminded by the three pillars in Phraya Nakhon cave.

Old but not irrelevant

The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair is the splendor if the old. Proverbs 20:29 (NIV)

Our home culture glorifies youth.  As people "mature" they are considered less and less relevant.  In old days, white hair was considered a sign of wisdom.  By one's age, one earned the right to be heard.  Not so much anymore.  The opinions of the experienced are considered "old-fashioned", "out-of-date", or "irrelevant. Old people are often considered a burden.

One of the nice things about Thai culture (though it is disappearing) is that there is still status connected with age. It's refreshing. (see more on that here.) We are in our sixties and we are stilled deemed worthy of offering something of value.

It's even more rewarding with the youth.  There are some young people at church that actually like hanging out with us.  Granted, we try to make it worthwhile.  We regularly teach some guitar and music.  Since this month is school break, we tried to have some extra activities for the young people.  Earlier last week, Ingrid invited some of the girls over to make muffins.  A few days later we took some people to a park about an hours drive away.

Making Muffins

Visit to a park with interesting rock formations

Along the way, they learned some Bible and some English.  We learned some Thai and learned more about Thai culture.

Of course, staying relevant in the lives of these young people takes effort takes some effort on our part.  We have to invest time and energy into the task.  It also takes a measure of humility.  We only hope that as the teens mature, they will remain interested in what we have to offer.  Meanwhile, we thank God for the opportunity to have a positive influence in their lives.