Brian Pomicter

In the recent movie Arrival, enormous spaceships settle in the atmosphere above twelve locations around the world. There is a purpose for the coming of the visitors from an extraterrestrial place—but that purpose remains unknown! The authorities obtain the services of a linguistics specialist in order to communicate and find that purpose.

There is a natural curiosity that young children possess. They look upon scenic environs with wonderment, awed by the beauty and the variety of plant and animal life they encounter. What a child sees is unfiltered and not yet fully processed and categorized—making what they see new and captivating.

Perhaps a vague and all-too-brief thought occasionally crosses the child’s mind. What does all this mean? Why does all this exist? No matter; another item of interest soon distracts them and draws their attention away.

It seems there is precious little in the news today to give cause for optimism about the future. Indicators everywhere suggest that life could become a lot rougher. Many people look around and grow discouraged by what they see. For some, their personal lives have been or are becoming destitute of hope. But is there any real reason for hope?

The Sadducees posed a question about the reunion of a woman to one of her former husbands after the resurrection. Jesus replied, “[You] do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:28–29, KJV).

Tim Heffernan, in the article “Rust Never Sleeps” from the March 2015 issue of The Atlantic, wrote: “Technological advances and cultural change can do only so much to fight rust, however. We can greatly slow corrosion, but we cannot stop it outright. Exposed iron and steel naturally revert to their lowest energy states by giving up their electrons to oxygen and water. The process is formally known as oxidation. Informally, it’s called rusting.”