2/5/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Many people would like to see God in all creation. This is a great idea. It works very well. However, most who have expressed this to me seem to want to see God in all creation from a fishing boat. They want to find God on the golf course, or by sleeping in on Sunday morning and being alone with a newspaper and a few doughnuts.
How does God show himself in creation? In Psalm 50:1-6 He is in a storm, in fire, in radiance as big as the day is long. This would be very dangerous when fishing on the lake. The golf course might not be the best place to meet this kind of God. And I’m afraid the newspaper and doughnuts would be ruined.
It seems we like the idea of summoning God. We have somehow tamed him so he will act the way we would choose. We think the Lord of all creation will respond to our whims, our preferences.
On the contrary, this Psalm directs us to the Lord who uses his mighty power and presence to call people to himself. He is unapproachable in himself. But from that position, over all creation, he calls people to himself, all who would gather by means of the sacrifice he has appointed. It is through the means God has created that we can approach his throne. It is by God’s own will, not our will, that we approach him. He’s the judge. As the judge, he gets to decide how and when his people will come to him, as well as what they will receive.
What do we receive from the Lord? When we consider him as the one with the fire and the storm, we might think our most likely reward would be destruction. But he doesn’t do that at all. Rather than destruction, the Lord gives his people his own righteousness. He makes us as righteous as the day is long. This, again, is entirely by God’s own good pleasure. Thanks be to God for his great mercy.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Many people would like to see God in all creation. This is a great idea. It works very well. However, most who have expressed this to me seem to want to see God in all creation from a fishing boat. They want to find God on the golf course, or by sleeping in on Sunday morning and being alone with a newspaper and a few doughnuts.
How does God show himself in creation? In Psalm 50:1-6 He is in a storm, in fire, in radiance as big as the day is long. This would be very dangerous when fishing on the lake. The golf course might not be the best place to meet this kind of God. And I’m afraid the newspaper and doughnuts would be ruined.
It seems we like the idea of summoning God. We have somehow tamed him so he will act the way we would choose. We think the Lord of all creation will respond to our whims, our preferences.
On the contrary, this Psalm directs us to the Lord who uses his mighty power and presence to call people to himself. He is unapproachable in himself. But from that position, over all creation, he calls people to himself, all who would gather by means of the sacrifice he has appointed. It is through the means God has created that we can approach his throne. It is by God’s own will, not our will, that we approach him. He’s the judge. As the judge, he gets to decide how and when his people will come to him, as well as what they will receive.
What do we receive from the Lord? When we consider him as the one with the fire and the storm, we might think our most likely reward would be destruction. But he doesn’t do that at all. Rather than destruction, the Lord gives his people his own righteousness. He makes us as righteous as the day is long. This, again, is entirely by God’s own good pleasure. Thanks be to God for his great mercy.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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