So when I think of unicorns I usually go back to my childhood. Pretty little ponies with flowing manes and of course crazy colors. The beautiful creatures that we would see in a Lisa Frank coloring book were always some of my favorites, they were always so pretty. I knew that they were mythical but I have a very active imagination and could always see myself riding one through the air and it being my best friend. It was fun to imagine. But I never took it any farther than that because well, they're not real and I understood that.
When my husband asked me to write about unicorns, (Which if you didn't catch it, he was just being a goofball, he didn't really want to read about unicorns but he is now!) I figured I would do a little research and see what I could find to write about. Oh my was I surprised! People actually asking if unicorns are real and how to become one! It mad me sad for our society that has become so down and clueless. Or maybe they are all just being silly like my husband, who knows?
I got another shock when I found out that unicorns are actually mentioned in the Bible. "Really? I thought! No way!" So I looked it up and there it was in black and white. Unicorns are actually in the Bible. One verse is Psalm 92:10 and it says
But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn:
I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
There are other verses as well where unicorns are mentioned in Numbers and Deuteronomy. I couldn't believe it! Surely, they weren't talking about what we see as unicorns! So I changed the version of the Bible I was looking at and realized that they are only called unicorns in one of them; the King James Version. All of the others that I looked at referred to the animal as ox or oxen. Now maybe my husband who studies Hebrew and Greek can tell us why they would call an ox a unicorn, but I surely cannot. It will take more study to figure that one out.
I also found something that wasn't quite as shocking. People had asked if unicorns were extinct and they were answered with a website for the WWF that talks about the unicorn being in danger. I love their imagination and sense of humor in this! On the site, you scroll through some things that talk about what the horns are being poached for and why the unicorns are in danger, then about halfway down it says "Getting Real About Unicorns". The site then goes on to tell the reader that unicorns are not real but there is a real animal that is similar and in real need of help. That animal is the rhinoceros. WWF makes the connection and does a wonderful job showing the need for real help for this very real creature.
So I've given just three small things that I have found in my mini search for unicorns, "so what?" you ask. Am I just rambling? No, I've found a lesson in even this small, silly task. A few actually,
Lesson one is that you can find information about anything on the internet, Big deal, everyone knows that. But does everyone realize that just because it's on there that doesn't make it true? I sure hope all of the people asking if unicorns were real and how to become one were kidding, but knowing how society is these days, I'm not so sure. The lesson is that we need to be careful in the things we read on the internet and don't just automatically believe that they are true. I believe that may be part of the reason that we have sunken so low as a society is because we just openly believe anything that we hear.
The one thing that everyone doesn't just automatically believe when they hear it is the fact that God loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay for your sins. That's the most important thing to believe! But that also brings me to lesson number 2, taking things out of context. I could have just read that verse in Psalms and said "See, unicorns are real! It says so in the Bible!" Sadly, people do that all the time and it causes so much confusion and makes people turn away from the truth. You have to dig into the Word and see what it is truly saying. You can't take just one verse and make it what you want it to be.
Lesson three, be like the great folks at WWF. Be gentle and use things for good. Take something silly and use it to show a real need. But don't get stuck on the imaginary. It's ok to imagine, like I said I have a huge imagination. I can picture things that others can't and I love having that ability. But I have to recognize what's real and what's not. I was shocked when I found out that not everyone knows that. I'm not trying to pat myself on the back or anything, I'm just sharing what I have learned.
So thank you Cary, my wonderful husband. Thank you for the challenge that you probably didn't even realize that you were giving me (or maybe you did it on purpose?). Thank you for reminding me that there is a lesson in everything and that researching and digger deeper is always necessary to get the real truth. Ok, who's next? What's the next crazy thing you all would like for me to write about?
No comments:
Post a Comment