Something To Think About

September the 27^th was Diana’s birthday. Even though we continued on with school we found time for lots of celebration. She received over twenty greetings, had a family tea, talked to friends and family back home, and met with a ladies prayer group. Diana and I also went to Las Quintas for breakfast. It has delightful food in a beautiful garden setting.

We recently discovered that September 27^th is also the day for the “flor de pericon.” It is a Mexican marigold wildflower that has a licorice-like smell and is in bloom in September. These flowers are harvested and tied into cross shaped bundles. They are then placed on the doors and doorposts of homes to invoke the protection of Michael the archangel to ward off evil spirits. While many hang these crosses as a custom there are many others who sincerely believe.

Do you find yourself wondering “how in the world could people believe such a thing?” I’ve wondered the same thing, but let me give you something to think about. There is something to be said for people who acknowledge the reality of spiritual forces in every day life. And, it isn’t so far fetched that Michael the Archangel would offer protection. He did help get a message to Daniel (Daniel 10:12-13) and disputed with the devil about the body of Moses (Jude 9). Come to think of it there was also a time when people killed a lamb and splattered its blood on the doorposts to protect themselves from a death angel that was coming. Now who among us would have believed that one?

Here’s something else to think about. There is a country bordering Mexico that has some very different and distressing beliefs. I have heard that most of them sincerely believe that their ancestors came from monkeys. They believe there is no God or at the very least live like it. Instead of offering up their children on an altar of sacrifice as the Aztecs did, they open the womb of their mothers and crush the baby’s skull. They approve of their men abandoning natural relations with women and being inflamed with lust for one another.

So I ask you, who is in the greater darkness? Who is the most deceived? Who cares?! Darkness is darkness and deception is deception. But as we weep for those living in darkness in this country, let us not do it with an air of spiritual superiority but with weeping for the spiritual blindness in our own country as well.