In the German classic, FAUST, the writer Goethe describes a pact that Dr. Faust makes with the devil. The pact allows Faust to satisfy his every human want and desire except one. Never, never under any circumstances, is he ever to stop and say to the passing moment, “Wait, you are so beautiful!”
This world is so beautiful — so intricate — so perfect. Scientists tell us that the slant of the earth, for example, tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, produces our seasons. If the earth had not been tilted exactly as it is, vapors from the oceans would move both north and south, piling up continents of ice. If the Moon were only 50,000 miles away from earth, instead of 200,000 miles away, the tides might be so enormous that all continents would be submerged in water. If the crust of the earth had been only ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen, and without it all animal life would die.
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Brennan Manning, THE RAGAMUFFIN GOSPEL (Portland, OR: Multnomah 1990).