Smog Detector

Shanghai is known for sometimes having heavy smog; so bad, in fact, that it could make a difference to your health! It's always better to know what you're up against if you go outside for a ride in a taxi. If the air quality is too bad, I just stay inside rather than add insult to my lungs.

I've never seen a smog report on TV or in newspapers, or if I did, it wasn't in English. Therefore, I created my own way of telling if there's pollution in the air. I look at this dark building to see if it is clear. Depending on the degree of clarity, I know whether it is safe to go outside.

I look at it every morning from the office window of our apartment. One might surmise that the smog would have to be pretty bad to hide such a large edifice. However, don't let photos deceive you.

It's a long way off. Some mornings I can barely make it out. The smog hides it from my eyes. And on mornings like that, it seems further away than ever.

The neighboring apartment building close by doesn't seem to change regardless of the smog. If I only had it as an indicator, I'd probably think, "The air is fine. I can see clearly." But the real test is my smog detector. If I can't see it clearly - there's a problem in the air.

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..." - Hebrews 12:1-2

The daily routines may not be clear indicators of the fitness of our relationship with God. We're use to seeing them. They're close at hand. But when Jesus is blocked from my heart's view, it's an indicator that there may be something polluting my spiritual life.

The challenge is - if the pollution gets too heavy, I might forget He's there altogether. The domino effect of that would be, well . . . bad.