Dangerous, Beautiful World

I was reading in yesterday's news about the bear mauling in a remote region of Yellowstone. What a horrible thing to wake up in the dark being attacked by a grizzly you cannot see. One ranger said, "We need to realize we are both in their world and in their food chain." So true. 

God gives us an amazing world to explore. Yet, there are risks for explorers: there are bears out there and we are sometimes drawn into their habitat. Too bad for God, though. God will likely get the blame when things go terribly wrong. We say, "Why didn't God protect my love one from this vicious, random act?" 

Part of God's gift to us comes in the form of a brain- a brain that weighs risks (or, at least ought to) and a brain that accumulates wisdom (or, at least ought to). We continue to build our homes in hurricane alleys, our cities on ancient fault lines, and venture out among the grizzlies. We just do. Why? We are drawn to explore this amazing world full of risks. That's all. And... great beauty often lies in dangerous places.