Today I start referring to the second verse of 1 Corinthians 13. I am quoting from the New International Version: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

In this post I intend to reason about the weather forecast. Very many people are interested in knowing beforehand what the weather would be like on the next day. To some it is merely a moody issue. If they know a bright, sunny day was ahead of them, they are looking forward to feeling happy. If they hear of dark, cloudy and rainy perspectives some will anticipate unpleasant emotions.

Occasionally we have a special interest in what the weather is going to be like. Think of a pastor who is planning a church service in the open air. If the weather should be unfavourable he had perhaps better postpone the event.

Whoever intends to walk high mountains had better carefully watch the weather prognosis. Sudden heavy rains could render a mountain trip more than unpleasant. What to do when you are miles away from the next suitable shelter? Will the rain clothes sufficiently protect? For how long will they? In some places sudden floods of water may cause scree slopes to move. Any big stones coming downhill mean fatal danger. Wherever there is snow and ice nearby you need to look for the advice of people who know the area very well. They will more likely be able to assess the danger of avalanches.

To be honest, I am not always that happy with the weather forecast. At times in the particular place where I am things turn out to be different to what I expected after listening to what the specialist had to say.

Of course the weather is a science in itself. A suitable forecast requires a lot of insight and knowledge. One part of it is careful observation of current conditions in a larger area. Warm air in one place and cold air just nearby will cause winds and these will make clouds move. In other words a detailed weather report and a satisfactory grasp of the mysteries of meteorology, both are necessary for a reliable forecast.

Now if I should get wet in spite of a good prognosis I might say the forecast has been useless to me. However, my statements would be rather moderate. By experience I know that weather forecasts are commonly subject to certain limitations. There may be differences within an area of only a few kilometres.

Maybe a course or a blog on how to listen to and to heed a weather forecast without getting disappointed might be interesting and helpful to several of us. It might be good to know what a prognosis means or perhaps does not mean.

What the weather will be like may not be that important to many of us. Yet for Christian believers it may be helpful to consider what to make of prophecies and prophetic statements in the bible or at church.

Really knowledge and prognoses is one thing to me. Love is another. Having read the scripture verse quoted above I wonder: What has prophecy to do with love? Does this verse mean that a good television meteorologist should take into account that some of his listeners tend to grave depression if they hear of very gloomy prospects? In fact some do refer to how we are going to feel about the weather…