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My grandparents were dairy farmers.  As a young boy, when I would spend the
night with them, our dinner was often a simple affair consisting of fresh
milk (from the cow, not a carton) and bread.  The bread would be placed in a
bowl and the fresh, cold milk would be poured over the bread.  In order to
make the meal more appealing, my Grandmother would sprinkle a little sugar on
top of the bread and milk for me.  

Compared to the elaborate meals served in expensive restaurants, with waiters
attending to your every need and whim, the bread and milk dinner was very
humble. 

Though a lifetime has passed and my grandparents have long entered Heaven, I
can still vividly recall the scene of myself, as a small boy, sitting at a
table with my grandparents, our heads bowed, and my grandparents offering up
prayers of thanksgiving to God for the simple meal of bread and milk.

From the technological contraptions that are called computers to the
automobiles that propel us to our destinations to the application forms
required for employment, the complexity of this world increases with every
second. 

As we maneuver through this complex world, we often become so entranced with
the complexity that we begin to believe that our spiritual lives are also
governed by a complex operating system.

The simplicity in achieving Heaven is pointedly described in, perhaps, the
most familiar scripture, John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

In contrast to the simple meal of bread and milk, the study of Rectilinear
Motion provides an example of the complexity of the world in which we live.  
In Francis Sears' book, College Physics: Mechanics, Heat, and Sound, the
following problem is presented:

"The engineer of a passenger train traveling at 100 ft/sec sights a freight
train whose caboose is 600 ft ahead on the same track.  The freight train is
traveling in the same direction as the passenger train with a velocity of 30
ft/sec.  The engineer of the passenger train immediately applies the brakes,
causing a constant deceleration of 4 ft/sec2, while the freight train
continues with constant speed…..Will there be a collision?"

Will there be a collision? 

For the student of physics, the above problem can be easily answered by
applying certain formulas and making several calculations.   The student will
apply what he has learned in class, in order to correctly answer the
question.  Other than the time constraints placed by the teacher, the student
is under no pressure to solve the problem.

For the engineer of the passenger train, the above problem isn't a question
of applying formulas and making calculations, but rather it is a question of
hope:  I hope there won't be a collision.   The engineer experiences the
intensity of a situation where is no certain outcome.  While the engineer
applies the brakes and hopes for a safe ending, he is filled with anxiety, as
the two trains race towards each other.

For the student of physics, the problem involves written text (the cited
problem), calculations (on paper or in a calculator), and the correct answer
(Yes or No).  The student doesn't see the face of the engineer of the
passenger train, doesn't see the faces of the passengers, and doesn't
experience fear of a horrendous crash.  There is no personal involvement of
the physics' student with the problem, other than solving the problem.

For the engineer of the passenger train, the problem involves the potential
reality of people dying.  The engineer not only feels his own anxiety, but
also recalls the faces of the passengers that earlier boarded his train.  The
engineer tries to control his emotions, as he thinks of the families that are
on board his train.  The engineer thinks of the times that he has spent with
his friend, the engineer of the freight train.  The engineer of the passenger
train has a very personal attachment to the problem; right or wrong, he wants
the answer to be, "There will not be a collision."

While the problem is the same (Will there be a collision?), the intensity of
solving the problem greatly varies between the student (having no personal
connection to the terror of a potential collision) and the train engineer
(having personal connection to the terror of a potential collision).

Will there be a collision?

As the physics' student is able to study a motion problem without any
personal connection, it is relatively easy to read the Holy Bible without any
personal commitment; the Holy Bible becomes merely a book containing stories.

Take the student out of the classroom and place them physically on the racing
passenger train and their enthusiasm for solving the problem will be greatly
increased and their interest in the outcome (Will there be a collision?) will
be greatly intensified.

Likewise, when a person discovers that the Holy Bible is not just a book of
stories, but rather a compilation of prophecies made, prophecies fulfilled
and prophecies to be filled, they become more interested in the outcome, as
they race towards God's judgment.

Bread and Milk.

As my dinners of bread and milk with my grandparents were simple, the truth
in living a spiritual life is simple.  As John 6:47-51 relates:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting
life.  I am that bread of life.  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness
and are dead.  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man
may eat thereof, and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from
heaven:  if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread
that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

It is a simple thing to say, "All men die and there is a God."  The plan of
salvation is simple.  The consequences of sin are simple (Hell).  The rewards
of righteousness are simple (Heaven). 

The complexity of the matter begins, when a person removes themselves from
the equation and becomes simply an uninterested spectator (physics student).

Will there be a collision?

The minute that we're born into this world, we begin a race towards death and
God's judgment, as two speeding trains in a physics' problem.  Will you solve
the problem of Heaven or Hell before the inevitable collision?

Milk and Bread.

While Kings and Queens, Movie Stars, and Presidents never shook the hands of
my grandparents, listening to the prayers of my grandparents at that small
farm table and over a simple meal of milk and bread, there was no doubt that
they held the hand of God.  

My grandparents solved the problem and avoided the collision.

Copyright Bruce Durbin

________________
Bruce W. Durbin is a freelance writer whose articles have been featured on
many Christian online publications.  He is also the author of "Almost Heaven"
(www.iUniverse.com and Barnes & Noble) and may be contacted at
RavenInstitute@aol.com.