Dear Grandkids,
Solve: 9+8×7-6+5-4×3÷2-1
It’s a pretty simple math problem – as long as you know what to do. For some reason math always came easy to me. It still does. Now I am talking about simple math. Not differential equations and certainly not geometry but your basic addition and multiplication kind of stuff. Math is the reason I majored in engineering in college. Math is the reason I know how long I’ve been married to Nona. Math is the reason I know how many of you grandkids there are.
Math is something that you need to know because it is useful in almost everything. Just in the last 24 hours I have used math to shop and bank and cook and play golf and do my 100 push ups and even to write this epistle. But did you know that it helps to know math if you want to read the Bible well? I could give you lots of examples but here are just a few:
Peter needed to know math to understand a lesson on forgiveness: Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22). He also needed it in his fishing business: So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. (John 21:11)
John needed to know math to understand The Revelation: The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. (Revelation 9:16)
And there was a time when I needed math to get the full impact of this verse from Matthew – though not so much these days: But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:30)
Right now I’m counting down the days until we get to hang out at the beach together – that takes math.
Tell you what – give me a call and tell me the correct answer to the math problem up above and I will give you a Chick-fil-A gift card. I’ll just need to figure out how much that will cost me – which will take math.
Never forget that you are very loved!
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