(Rom 1: 1-7; Ps 98:1bcde, 2-4; Lk 11:29-32)
Today’s psalm seems quite clear:
“All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.”
Look around. Salvation of our souls can be so easy, if only we would get out of the way.
How do we know this? Because God’s plan is perfect, even when we don’t understand it (and seldom do we ever).
I just spent a few days near a mountain top in Tennessee, taking a fall holiday with my family. As we made our way through the steep hills, rushing waters, beautiful scenery – it became clear that this heavenly place, the Great Smoky Mountains, did not just happen.
They were designed by God to be perfect. Just like WE are designed to be perfect. Only when we try to insert our own ideas of our creation and our purpose does our perfection begin to wane.
Imagine what would happen if the flowing river decided it did not want to flow from north to south. It was to flow in a different direction. Chaos would ensue as the water would change direction, cut through previously dry lands and re-order a landscape that up until then had been perfect.
Imagine if the trees decided they did not want to grow so tall. They wanted to be short and stout. The change in the sunlight would have a ripple effect in all of nature, which depends on the sun and the shade and the trees for their very existence.
Imagine if man decides that it does not care about the natural order of things … what is more important is what man wants, not what God has created. So, he inserts himself into a false creation that runs counter to God’s original plan.
Happens every day.
Men and women of all creeds, shapes, sizes and colors struggle with the simple notion that God is God and we are NOT God.
I have to believe that the simple beauty of nature – something we all long for – could and should be a model for the way we live our own lives. Our complicated lives, plagued by problems of our own making, could be so less complicated if we let God be God and us be us.
Recognize and embrace what God has given you. Use your free will to act on the things God has given you … stop wasting time second-guessing God’s plan and regretting things you may have or have not done.
As Christians, we are challenged to accept ourselves as God has made us. Even when we don’t think it was the best choice – and, frankly, we can see ourselves being something completely different – our true challenge in life is not to try and become our own god of creation.
Instead, be a man. A woman. A child. Be yourself and let God bring to fruition the plans he put in place when we were first mended in the womb.
