[Faith-talk] Good Night Message for Sunday, February 17, 2013

[Paul]

Well, here in the continental part of the Americas it's approaching the end of another Lord's Day.  I hope and pray that, by God's matchless grace and His providential care, that you all had a wonderful Sunday in the Lord and with each other, no matter where in the world you happen to reside.

"The Pattern of Three" by Christine Ayabe, a writer living in Illinois, is our contribution for today, rendered as follows:

Often, an artist's work reflects his or her personality.  Many artists also imprint a unique mark or signature that prominently stamps their name on the work.  This is a quality that is evident in the natural world.  Consider, for instance, a recurring pattern that presents itself in many ways:  the number three.  Take a look at any kind of fruit.  It has three parts:  the outer skin, the actual fruit, and its seed(s).  An egg also has three parts:  the shell, the whites, and the yolk.  There are three physical states of one essence:  solid, liquid, and gas.  An atom is composed of a proton, neutron, and electron.  A plant has roots, a stem, and leaves.  Man is created of spirit, soul, and body (1 Thess. 5:23).

The number three is also present in manmade objects.  There are three colors on a stoplight.  A simple lever consists of the load, lever arm, and fulcrum.  The three most basic parts of a battery are the cathode, anode, and electrolyte solution.  There also seems to be a "rule of three" in writing, which subtly suggests that anything that comes in three is intrinsically funnier.  Some classic examples of this principle include Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the Three Stooges, and Three Blind Mice.

All of these patterns in life mirror the very personality of the ultimate Creator, God, who is also composed of three parts:  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, yet is one entity.  Furthermore, when He was here on earth, patterns of three also popped up around Him.  The magi presented three gifts to Jesus when He was born in Bethlehem.  While fasting in the desert, Jesus resisted temptation from Satan three times.  The disciple Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed and later repented with three declarations of love toward Jesus.  On the day of Jesus' crucifixion, three men (including Jesus) were crucified.  And finally, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion.

Sometimes we just need to look at the simple things to better understand the bigger picture.  The signature may be subtle but it's there, declaring the glory of God and proclaiming the work of His hands.

And there you have Christine's article.  I hope that you learned something about the number three, as I sure did when reading this submission.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, throughout this night or day and especially in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul