Thought for Today
Genesis 1:5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Psalm 5:3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.
Matthew 21:18 In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry.
Matthew 14:25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.
Do you have a morning routine, some regular way you begin each day? I make a pot of coffee and take a cup to Greta. I suspect that most of us have some sort of morning routine.
I always find it interesting that our ancestors-in-the-faith began each ‘day’ with the evening, “there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” I generally think in terms of each ‘day’ beginning when I awaken in the morning. Even our measurement of time begins at midnight, 12:00 a.m. Why? Does it even matter when and how we enumerate each day? About the only time of the year I usually think about counting days is at Easter. I still remember my confusion as a young boy trying to understand Good Friday and then Easter, the third day, being on Sunday. It works if we consider Friday as the first day. But, as a youth, I always thought in terms of “3 days later.”
Even if you are not at all interested in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM), you almost assuredly have heard of Albert Einstein. You probably even know enough about him to have heard the word ‘relativity’ associated with his name. If you’re the least bit ‘techy,’ you may even know E = MC2.
Those of us who have spent our lives immersed in STEM have thought a lot about time, its measurement and calculations associated with it. Calculus is basically dealing with changes of things over time. I first learned about calculus in a class titled Differential Calculus, where we began with looking at changes in position over time, dx/dt (I think, it’s been a long time since I looked at calculus).
All of us, however, live lives bounded by time. All of us deal with time. And today, I’ll stick with that earlier statement, I suspect that most of us have some sort of morning routine. Have you ever wondered whether Jesus and his disciples had morning routines.? Theirs could not have involved perking coffee. “The history of coffee dates back centuries, first from its origin in Ethiopia and later in Yemen. It was already known in Mecca in the 15th century. Also, in the 15th century, Sufi monasteries in Yemen employed coffee as an aid to concentration during prayers.” (en.wikipedia.org)
The psalmist suggests that his morning routine included praying to God. I usually set aside time in the evening for prayers, although, I have been known to pray almost any and every time of the day. On the rare occasions we have run out of coffee, I have even begun my mornings in prayer.
Matthew offers us several suggestions on Jesus’ mornings. We know that at least once Jesus was hungry in the morning. Most of us have had the same experience. On another occasion, when the disciples had decided to take a morning boat ride, Jesus walked across the water toward them. If anyone suggests to you that they walk on water in the mornings, be careful, they are almost assuredly exaggerating.
Do our morning routines truly make any difference? Many years ago, I read an advice column in our local newspaper. The columnist once suggested that each of us has the opportunity to set the tone for our day each morning. We can thoughtfully decide to greet the day with a positive or negative attitude. We can glory in the day God has given us . . . or we can wallow in all of the problems, aches and pains which face us. We can look forward to the challenges and potentials of the day. Or, we can face the morning in fear and dread. “’Put on a Happy Face’ is a popular song with lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. It was introduced by Dick Van Dyke in the 1960 stage musical Bye Bye Birdie.” (en.wikipedia.org)
As a Christian, I know the glory of the day God has given us, each and every day. Irrespective of life’s challenges, fully aware of the aches and pains that accompany me as I get up in the morning, I resolve to greet the day with a ‘Happy Face.’ Rainy day, sunny day, hot, cold, joyous or fretful, I have a choice in how I greet the day. I have a choice in how I choose to react and interact with the rest of God’s children. I choose happy.
Stay safe, greet each day with the joy of life itself, trust God,
Pastor Ray