Looking at Clouds from All Sides

Looking at Clouds from All Sides

Mark 9:2-11

One of the popular songs in the 60’s was written by one of my favorite singers.  Both Sides Now, by Judy Collins, looks at clouds, love and life in its three verses, and leads her to the conclusion that all she knows about each subject is its illusions.  She really doesn’t know any of them—clouds, life, love—at all.

In this limited space, we don’t have time to get to know love and life.  Human beings have been trying to do that for thousands of years with very little success.  Perhaps, however, we can learn something about clouds.

In biblical times—and undoubtedly for millennia before and some time after—humans thought clouds were living things.  If you think about it, that was a logical conclusion.  Lacking knowledge of the high velocity of winds in the upper atmosphere, people would have looked at the speeding clouds and deduced that they must be moving under their own power.  This belief is supported by Scripture, especially in the New Testament.  Jesus is taken up to heaven on a cloud (Acts 1:9).  We are told in Revelation (1:7) that he will return “with the clouds.”  Mark tells us that a cloud overshadowed the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, removing the figures of Elijah and Moses from their sight.  Clouds, sent and controlled by God, seemed to work miracles of appearance and disappearance.

I think Judy Collins made a mistake in her lyrics about clouds, love and life.  We know that love and life have more than two sides—in fact, they have almost infinite sides.  It seems that clouds have multiple sides as well.

We know that clouds have a scientific side.  They are formed when condensed moisture descending meets rising warm air ascending.  Some of these clouds contain so much moisture that they produce rain, which itself has at least two sides.  Plants need rain to grow, and that’s good.  Sometimes rain spoils our outdoor plans, and that’s not so good.

There is a fanciful, imaginative side to clouds.  Many of us, as children, looked up at clouds, trying to recognize familiar shapes in them.  When we were young it was a great way to pass time on a summer afternoon.  Perhaps we adults might do well to spend a few afternoons in that pursuit.  It might sharpen our imaginations and enrich our lives.

Those who fly planes—or ride in them—know there are at least three sides to clouds.  When we fly below a heavy layer of clouds they obscure the sun, and darken the sky.  When we fly through the clouds we might well believe they are alive, as they buffet the plane and make our flight less enjoyable.  When we finally break above the clouds and see the open sky, we enjoy the beauty of God’s grandeur.  When we look down at that thick layer of clouds it might seem solid enough that we could walk on them—but we know better.

Whichever side of clouds we choose to focus on, sooner or later we’ll be led back to God.  While we have come far from ancient humans in our scientific understanding of clouds, they still bring us face to face with the God who created the patterns by which the universe operates.  In fact, scientific discoveries are, I believe, God revealing some of God’s wisdom to us.

Lying on our backs in the grass, reveling in the movement and shape of clouds, we find ourselves being led to the Creator of all beauty.  Our flights of fancy are both inspired by and directed to God.

Flying below, in, or above the clouds we are reminded of God’s power and majesty.  While we may or may not understand clouds any better than Judy Collins, we know that it is God who has given them to us for our benefit and enjoyment.