By Pastor Teddy Joseph
We are all aware of the gross number of wildfires that have occurred throughout Canada. Because of the intense heat, forest fires have been plaguing northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.
Regardless of what people may think of how it started, whether it be arsonists, or a group of fighters trying to make a political point or even climate changing, we know for a fact that everyone is impacted. The only way to stop the wildfires is a tremendous outpouring of rain in those areas to subdue and extinguish the fires.
There is a certain dilemma affecting central Alberta as well. A lot of farmers are suffering for the most part a period of drought. Seeding time has already started and not a single drop of rain has touched those fertile grounds.
We recently had rain but how will they have to wait until the next downpour comes? To the farmers, rain is essential for the growth of their produce which in turns sustains their livelihood. Without rain, the farmers would have to start over and reseed their fields which is already strenuous and long and worrisome. If there is no rain, then there is no yielding of crops. If there is no yielding of crops, then there is no food for the populace and famine would be the result.
Rain has many positive benefits, not only for agriculture but also for the human body as well. For the environment, rain replenishes wild vegetation, moistens the air, forms streams and rivers, refills the water table, and creates beneficial negative ions.
Rainwater is the best source of water for plants because it has a higher level of nutrients, especially compared to municipal water which has been treated with chlorine. Rainwater also offers natural sources of nitrogen, which keeps plants green and growing strong. Rain provides water for hydroelectric power plants, crop irrigation, and suitable conditions for many types of ecosystems.
For the human body, rainwater has a low, near-zero, dissolved mineral salt content, which promotes healthy hair and skin. The alkaline pH of rainwater has an overall detoxifying effect and speeds up metabolism. The negative ion that rainwater creates positively influences your mood, helps lift a depressing attitude, and keeps you energized throughout the day. Some studies show that heavy rainfall drastically reduces crime in that area. Even hearing rain hitting your window has a calming and soothing effect on the body.
A prolific author stated, “The greatest want of the world is the want of men, men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.”
Just as rain is pertinent, essential, and vital for the growth of the environment, the sustainability of human lives and the development of society, men of integrity, men of calibre and candour, men of uprightness, of Christian character, moral influence and a strong work ethic are essential, vital, and important to the growth of society and the sustainability of lives.
Real men are not to be looked at as mediums of oppression but rather as role models of society. As Canada needs more pure and unfiltered rainwater, the world needs more pure and honest men. Men who are faithful like Abraham, strong like Samson, wise like Solomon, brave like David, courageous like Elijah, meek and humble like Moses. The world ultimately needs men who are loving, joyful, peaceful, long-suffering, gentle, self-controlled, good, truthful, righteous, and merciful like Christ.
Teddy Joseph is the pastor at the Stettler and Sedgewick Seventh-day Adventist Church.