Thought for Today

Genesis 2:5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-- for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground;  

Psalm 72:1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son. . . . 6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.

Matthew 5:45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

When I woke this morning, it was 37oF and a light rain was falling. It is now 40oF and that rain is still falling. Over my first cup of coffee, I read today’s devotional in I Want to Live These Days with You, (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 2005, pg.341). The devotional is titled Whatever This Day May Bring. It is a beautiful prayer to God.

“Triune God, my Creator and my Savior,

This day belongs to you. My time is in your hands.

Holy, merciful God, my Judge and my Redeemer . . .

You hate and punish evil in this world and in that world

Without regard for the person;

You forgive the sins of those who ask you sincerely,

And you love the good and reward it on this earth with the comfort of conscience . . .

Lord have mercy on me . . . Lord, whatever this day may bring, may your name be praised.”

I will make that my prayer for today. Irrespective of cold, ignoring rain, in full knowledge that our loving, Creator God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous, I will pray for God’s mercy and grace. I will remember the words of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians, “2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—"

Maybe it would be a good prayer for every day, a reminder that I don’t need to be in control of everything in life. As much as our society values the comparatives I wrote about yesterday, the ranking of everything from ‘best’ to ‘worst,’ our society values control. We want to have everything ‘under control.’ A part of our ‘control mania’ would be our controlling our own salvation. If I just do the items on my ‘spiritual checklist’ each day, I can guarantee my salvation . . . or can I? If I just pray the right words each day, I can guarantee my relationship with my Creator . . . or can I?

Notice Bonhoeffer’s words in that prayer, “You forgive the sins of those who ask you sincerely.” Think about that in conjunction with Paul’s words about salvation being “the gift of God.” Is it possible that guaranteeing my own salvation is “above my paygrade?” My Creator and my Savior, my Judge and my Redeemer, our Triune God is the only One who can assure my salvation, my place in eternity.

Can it truly be this simple? Could Paul really be correct? As a Reformed Protestant, I accept Paul’s words, remembering the watchwords of the Reformation, sola fide (by faith alone); sola gratia (by grace alone); and, sola Scriptura (Scripture alone). Bonhoeffer captures that idea in the prayer above with “This day belongs to you. My time is in your hands.”

Does that mean that every word I speak, every motion taken by any part of my being is predetermined by God? Am I merely an automaton, a puppet dancing on God’s strings? I think not! Is God ‘in control?’ For me, that often-asked question is not a valid question. God is omnipotent. I believe, however, that God has given me free will, “A loose rendering of (Lat) liberum arbitrium. The term seeks to describe the free choice of the will which all persons possess.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 109)

I have the free will to accept God’s gift of salvation. I have the free will to sincerely ask for God’s forgiveness. I have read Micah 6:8 and Luke 10:27. I have the free will to do justice, love kindness, humbly walk with God, to love God and neighbor.

Am I in control? I am in control of choosing to exercise my free will. I am in control of praying to God. I know what Jesus did do. I just need to remember my Boy Scout oath “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God . . . “

Stay safe, have faith, trust God,

Pastor Ray