Nobody wants to drop money in a pocket only to later find that it slipped through a hole and was lost. Whether we’re dealing with pockets, purses, or pots, I think we’d all agree that containers that don’t hold things are useless. They don’t fulfill the purpose they were created for.
In this month’s feature article, Dr. Henry Morris III talks about such “Holey Bags” and reminds us that we’ve trusted a bag with holes when we consume opportunities and resources without thinking about how God wants us to use them. We work hard, believing our riches will bring peace of mind. We tightly grip the things of this world, only to eventually find ourselves clutching an empty sack.
We can be hurt by our “holey bags,” the untrustworthy things we depend on for happiness, fulfillment, or security. Have holes sifted out some of the good things, the best things, God intends for your life? Dr. Morris says, “From time to time we all need reminding that we are here on Earth to glorify our Creator, not to use His resources for our own pleasure and aggrandizement.” Do you trust in money to get you through the day? Is your career, reputation, or position in the community your source of security? Do you fill your bag with trinkets and bank accounts, only to see them disappear? Has your “focus of faith shifted from the work of the Kingdom to the ‘bag with holes’”?
Maybe your bag has holes of alarm because of environmental or political issues. ICR’s Dr. Vernon Cupps and Dr. Jake Hebert discuss a topic that’s urgently being debated around the world: global warming and climate change (“A Realistic Look at Global Warming”). They say, “Much of the alarmism surrounding this issue results from climate computer models….So many variables affect Earth’s climate that it’s difficult to see how a model can accurately predict future changes, especially given our present imperfect understanding.” They also point out “we should be good stewards of what He has given us, but we enter dangerous territory if we presume to be able to control and shape to our will what God has made.” Perhaps our fears are based on the need to control what only God can control.
And if your “bag of holes” is the doubt that the Bible can be trusted in matters of science, then we’re here to encourage you. Dr. Jason Lisle says, “We can’t ever reach God’s level of thinking, but we can, by God’s grace, learn to reason correctly—in a way that is consistent with His nature” (“Higher Thoughts”). ICR’s mission is to help believers discern and trust the higher thoughts of God. You can have confidence that science confirms the Bible. Henry Morris IV tells us “ICR research feeds our educational programs and publications….Countless people have been trained to believe, teach, and preach the entirety of the gospel message—beginning with the book of Genesis” (“Gifts That Go Twice as Far”).
We pray that the Lord will use ICR to help patch the holes of disbelief or doubt in your life. While the book of Haggai begins on a somber note about the emptiness of lives marked with bags of holes, it ends with hope. Even though God’s children sometimes squander opportunities to serve Him, the Lord declares His faithfulness: “I will take you…and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you” (Haggai 2:23). Our Creator delights in patching the holes, mending the sifted and strained pieces of our lives, and using our patchwork vessels for His glory.
* Jayme Durant is Director of Communications at the Institute for Creation Research.
