Scientists who study clouds and water droplet formation help us understand why rain never pours from the clouds in a stream but falls in drops.

Clouds are simply very small particles of water.  They stay suspended because the force of gravity pulling them down is less than the resistance of the air through which the raindrop has to move.

Raindrops start when water condenses on a tiny dust particle.  These invisible droplets soon attract enough extra water to form a visible drop.  The smallest drops we call drizzle.  They hardly seem to fall at all - travelling only at about one kilometre an hour.  In comparison, during a tropical downpour, raindrops can get as large as six millimetres.  They can fall at about thirty kilometres an hour, before breaking up again into smaller drops because of air resistance.

There are several forces at work when raindrops develop.  A force called surface tension causes water to stick together and form little balls.  When the balls are big enough, gravity pulls them down as raindrops.  As they fall, the raindrops gradually grow by colliding with other water drops.  As they grow, they accelerate under the influence of gravity.  But frictional and aerodynamic forces are also at work on the drops to limit their size.

So next time you're caught in a storm, be thankful that the balance of forces favours drops rather than streams when rain falls from the sky.

MOVING BEYOND MATTER
by Ron Hughes

Even raindrops are subject to scientific laws, preventing them from forming drops too large, or worse yet,  falling in a solid mass.  If they were not subject to these laws, the weather would cause a lot more damage to the environment than it does.

And if raindrops need to be governed and controlled, how much more do we need the same?  To be without law would lead the whole human race into chaos.  True, there are demagogues, despots, and dictators who abuse their power, subjecting their people to untold horrors in the name of law.  But think what chaos would reign if there were no laws at all.  I mean, none.  No traffic lights to hold us up at an intersection, no traffic police to deter us from speeding, no laws to prevent employers from abusing their workers.  You can make your own list, but you get the point.  Excessive or unjust laws can be oppressive, but no laws at all - well that  leads to disaster.

It's true that law applied wrongly can bring us into bondage.  Yet the answer is not to do away with law, but to bring other laws into play that will modify the effect those laws have on us.

Let me explain: - We are all acquainted with the law of gravity.  We cannot live without it, but there are times it can be very restricting, particularly when we wish to fly.  Before the Wright brothers came along, human flight was only a dream.  Now we know there are other laws in the universe that can overcome the law of gravity, namely, the laws of aero-dynamics.  By applying those laws we can, for a time, be free from the restricting effects of gravity.

Well. something similar is true for us in the spiritual realm.  We cannot banish law entirely from our lives.  If we do, we will court disaster.  But we can apply other laws that can free us from the bondage of law.  I am thinking particularly of the law of forgiveness.  God extends mercy and forgiveness to all who will trust Him.  Applying these laws, we can fly into the atmosphere of God's love.