The Minnow and The Trout

I like to lull my stress away with Alison Adul's intrancing voice. Her music is vibrant and reminds me of when I could waste time in the woods of Pennsylvania as a kid. It is hard not to think of nature when listening to A Fine Frenzy, because not only do her lyrics speak of the mysteries and beauty of nature, but her voice is backed by a composition of bubbling piano notes that play lightly to the heart, like a soft brook.

As the music eased my tension, I started to listen to the lyrics of her song "The Minnow And The Trout." Now, I was well aware that Alison comes from a evolutionist's viewpoint, as can be seen in her album title "one cell in the sea," but I was further intrigued by her pleads for nature to get along.

The story of the minnow and the trout begins: "Help me out said the minnow to the trout/I've lost and found myself swimming in your mouth." Here, the minnow is clearly in a food chain situation. Alison then draws picture of a interactions that are "not your everyday circumstance": Humming birds having a coffee date with the ants, elephants sharing food with the rats, and a dove helping a baby eaglet. It's a very idealistic view of the world.

That's when i was reminded of Pastor Loren Jone's sermon a few weeks ago at Ecclesia:
For love and fairness to even make sense in this world, it must be based on a loving God. If we look at nature there is no way we can come up with the idea that God is loving and personal. Nature does not reflect benevolence; when we look at nature, we see violence, death, and randomness. And if we look at other world religions, we cannot see a God of love either.

God has revealed himself through time, and this is how love can make sense in our fallen world:

Creation --> Fall --> Redemption

Only with that framework does a loving God make sense. It's kind of like irreducible complexity - all three pieces must exist to understand Him, nature, and our lives.

So, my dear Fine Frenzy, I applaud your pleas for perfection - for, may I dare say, redemption. But the mutations from one cell in the sea will never explain the complexity of earth, or where your desires come from. But, at least Alison feels the tension that God has planted in all of us - the discontent with this world - that something should be different.

Listen to "The Minnow and The Trout"