The Opposite of False

I spent much of Friday trying to find something I could write about Ryan Braun which would be worth the effort.  Every time I would get close to a worthwhile thought about the lies and deception of Mr. Braun, the opposite of what he represents appeared before my eyes. The truth was revealed.

I was thinking about how easy it must have seemed to Mr. Braun, gifted with rare athletic skill, the owner of a multi-million dollar contract, charming and head-turning handsome; how easy it must have been for him to believe that he could turn a lie into reality.  He really believed, I guess, that he could charm his way out of an outright lie about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.  I was ready to conclude that everything in his public life is now suspect.  And just then, right before my eyes on my morning walk,  were three deer, two adults and one fawn, still with white specks on its fur. I stopped. They stopped. We  all stared.  I raised my hand and pronounced God’s blessings on their heads. And they glided away, feet barely touching the dew on the fairway. And I thought about how creation always outshines our human-made false “reality”.

Later that morning I was preparing to bless a group of missionaries about to head off for 10 days.  I was thinking about the smear on the Brewers, Mr. Braun’s team (for now); how their recent success is tainted by his lies.  But just as I was working up good line of indignant anger, I saw a little brother being peeled away from his farewell hug for his big sister.  Letting her go, he said, “This is the worst day of my life.”  And that became the truth that I could not stop thinking about, how life-changing a good “family” can be. I raised my hand and blessed that family, the mission group and their vehicle, and they all went off to tell the truth to strangers half-way across our nation.

I came home at the tail end of a thunderstorm.  I was thinking about how the “Braun” jerseys now read “Fraud” across the back. I wondered if it was worth telling a lie. I was listening to the awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping choral movement of Beethoven’s masterpiece 9^th as I pulled into our driveway. I saw in the house window the reflection of a rainbow which had appeared behind me at the trailing edge of the storm. With the perfect notes rising and the perfect colors dancing I decided I didn’t need to write about Mr. Braun’s false reality when all around me is truth. Luther got it right,  “God’s Truth abideth still.” God’s Kingdom is forever. And that is the opposite of false. Hallelujah.