Thought for Today
Psalm 19:1 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
“Calvin often referred to the heavens and the earth, the works of God, as a theater in which the creator’s glory can be seen (1.5.8; 1.6.2; 2.6.2). This most beautiful theater enables faith to see that ‘wherever we cast our eyes, all things they meet are the works of God’ (1.14.20)” (Coffee with Calvin, pg. 4)
Yesterday, I shared the same quotation from Coffee with Calvin, and I reflected on the whys of Creation. This morning, my mind is more on the second sentence in that quotation. My first thought is to question whether or not a Christian can see anything other than through the lenses of our faith. I think it unarguable that every Christians sees not only that “most beautiful theater,” but also every aspect of life itself through the Incarnation of Jesus as the Christ.
The first chapter of the Gospel of John captures that succinctly in just a few verses, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” Much like John, I always think of Jesus as the Incarnate Creative Word of God. Jesus was and is God’s “Let there be” in human form.
As such, everything we see and experience in “the heavens and the earth” reminds us of “the life (which is) the light of all people.” The real, complete beauty of God’s theater is revealed to God’s children in the person of Jesus. Our own, individual eyes are opened to that beautiful theater by our epiphany with Jesus.
Of course, that inextricably leads to some consideration of faith. For me, the classic definition of faith is, “Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” I believe that as a Christian, my own encounter with Jesus enables me to find that assurance and that conviction in every aspect of what I see and experience in “the heavens and the earth.”
I believe that to see a bird soar, a fish leap out of the water, to feel the cool of a summer rain or the touch of a gentle breeze is to experience an encounter with God. The stars in the night sky, shooting stars, the sun and clouds in the day are all reminders of our Creator God. “But, to those who have faith and know that God the Creator is also God the Redeemer in Jesus Christ, the ‘heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork’ (Ps.24:1)” (Coffee with Calvin, pg. 4)
I draw 2 important lessons from all of this. First, I believe that if more of us were conscious of God’s revelation in Creation, we would reap the benefits of the angel’s words from Luke, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" Certainly, if we were aware of that “most beautiful theater” all around us, we would be less likely to bomb it out of existence. What might happen were peace among men to actually come about?
Secondly, I believe that Jesus’ promise in the book of Acts is also a challenge to all Christians to share the gospel story of “the life (that) was the light of all people.” Every bird that soars, every fish that leaps, every cool breeze should remind us that the Holy Spirit empowers us to become Jesus’ “witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." We just need to share that good news,
Stay safe, see God all around you, trust God,
Pastor Ray