A new house paint marketed in
Europe and Asia comes
with a guarantee to stay clean for five years
without washing or sandblasting.
The secret behind this new paint is not as much
a technological breakthrough
as it is understanding God's grand design in
nature.
A German Botanist, Wilhelm
Barthlott spent twenty
years studying the white lotus. The plant is a
symbol of purity, and Barthlott
wondered how the plant was able to keep itself
so clean, though it often
grew in swamps.
Using an electron microscope,
he discovered the leaves
of the lotus have tiny points on it, much like a
bed of nails. When a speck
of dust or dirt falls on the leaf, it teeters
precariously on the points.
When a drop of water rolls across the tiny
points, it picks up the poorly
attached dirt and carries it away. The
self-cleaning leaf of the Lotus
provided insight into ways to make paint resist
dirt.
A new method of science known
as Biomimicry is gaining
momentum as designers look to nature to solve
engineering problems. Perhaps
this new field indicates that man has finally
realized God's plan is pretty
good after all. One man who owns a company
applying God's designs to commercial
carpeting and textiles says, "The question we
ask is how would nature solve
this problem?" Following God's plan is a good
idea in every area of life.
Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV "Be
imitators of God, therefore,
as dearly loved children and live a life of
love, just as Christ loved
us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God."
—http://www.nytimes.com
December 12/11/2001, Illustration
by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
________________________________________
IMITATION
Seven months after the term
"Shock and Awe" entered
American jargon during the Iraq War, the United
States Patent office has
been blitzed with trademark applications using
the term in their names.
In the past few weeks,
products including golf clubs,
pesticides, video games, energy drinks and even
infant crib toys have filed
applications with the trademark office in hopes
of using the words "Shock
and Awe."
None of the applications has
received approval yet.
Brigid Quinn a spokesman for the Patent Office,
which oversees trademark
law, says, "the last thing I can remember like
this was for using the terms
Millennium or Y2K." Quinn adds, "Each will be
reviewed one by one on their
own merit."
—Reuters, 'Shock and Awe’
Barrage Hits Patent Office,
October 24, 2003. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
and Jim Sandell.
Some of these products may
have "Shock and Awe" value,
but others may not. The proof will be in how the
product works not in its
name. Christians carry Christ’s name in our
designation, but that doesn’t
mean we are necessarily like Christ. The mark of
a true believer in Jesus
is in the love we demonstrate.
John 13:35 NIV "By this all
men will know that you
are my disciples, if you love one another."
IMITATE GOD
Mr. T, the actor who became
famous for roles on television's
"The A-Team" and the boxer Clubber Lang in
"Rocky III" has a new television
program and says he wants to use his Christian
faith to help motivate and
inspire people. On the program, "I Pity the
Fool," which airs Wednesday
on TV Land, Mr. T motivates workers to be better
at their jobs, reunites
families who've grown apart, and helps inspire
people to be better human
beings.
In a recent interview, Mr. T
said every morning he
gets up and prays, "Father, give me strength
today, not strength so I can
lift 500 pounds, but give me strength, Lord, so
when I speak, my words
might motivate, might inspire somebody, Lord,
when they see me, let them
see you. When they hear me, Lord, let them hear
you." He says in whatever
he does, "I'm representing the God I
serve."
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/201/story_20189.html.
Illustration
by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.
Ephesians 5:1-2 (GW) "Imitate
God, since you are the
children he loves. [2] Live in love as Christ
also loved us. He gave his
life for us as an offering and sacrifice, a
soothing aroma to God."
IMITATION
Gar Ryness never thought he
would be famous. It
all started as a prank video shot in his
backyard imitating famous batting
stances of major league baseball players with a
black waffle ball bat.
A year and a couple of million You-tube video
hits later, he was on the
David Letterman show doing his schtick. Ryness
said, “The whole thing is
just so ridiculous. I’m still not believing the
hype…I have the least marketable
skill in America.” Now he is known as “the
batting stance guy” and has
become a phenomenon among fans and players
alike.
Imitation, they say, is the
sincerest form of flattery.
As
Christians, we are to be imitators of Jesus
Christ. That is how we show
Him that we love him.
--Denver Post, July 24, 2009
Illustration by Jim L.
Wilson and David Johnson
(See the batting stance guy
on the David Letterman
show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sPakL5On3Y
)
Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV)
“Therefore be imitators of God,
as beloved children. (2) And walk in
love, as Christ loved
us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God.”
IMITATION
Filipino designer Herbert Chavez loves
Superman. When he was
a young man, he saw Superman lift a stack of cars
on the movie screen.
As he grew older, he began collecting Superman
memorabilia. His house is
filled with cups, bedspreads, actions figures, and
life-size Superman statues.
Now the 35-year-old designer has taken the next
step to be like his hero
by taking on a new persona after working hours,
and undergoing a series
of procedures to make his nose, cheeks, lips, and
chin look more like the
comic and movie superhero.
Chavez has a curl of black hair that falls across
his forehead, and
occasionally sports the thick black glasses of
Superman’s mild mannered
reporter guise as Clark Kent. He plans to
have an operation that
will give him a more muscular mid section, and
surgery to insert metal
in his legs to make him taller. Chavez says his
attraction to Superman
goes beyond looking like him; he wants to emulate
his actions as well.
He told reporters that doing good deeds is what
makes a hero, and that
is a lesson worth teaching to children. He said,
“We should show them that
even if you’re just a regular father or mother,
anybody can become a superhero.
Doing good to someone, to your neighborhood or to
your social life, that
makes you a superhero.” When asked about why
he is willing to go
through so much to be like his hero, Chavez said,
“Superman is my idol.
I want to look like him.”
--Superman fan takes adulation to new
heights;
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/13/us-philippines-superman-idUSTRE79C0Z320111013;
October
13, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell.
Imitating Christ does not involve any surgery
or pretending, just allowing
Him to control you from the inside out.
1 Corinthians 11:1-2 (CEV) You must follow my
example, as I follow
the example of Christ. (2) I am proud of you,
because you always remember
me and obey the teachings I gave you.
IMITATION
In an interview with
ESPN, Hall of Famer Michael Jordan
said, “I like Kobe, we talk a lot, I hope he
comes back healthy. I think he’s
one of the great players of the game, I think
he’s done a lot for the game, and
he has a true love for the game of basketball.
I absolutely have high regard
for Kobe Bryant. Even though he stole all my
moves, but that’s OK. I still love
him like a brother.”
The two are close
friends and Jordan has nothing but
admiration for Bryant, but it is also clear
that Jordan believes that Bryant
has imitated him.—Jim L. Wilson and Bobby Oh
