Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The God of All Creation

Scripture:  This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the forest will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. - Ezekiel 17: 22-24

Holy, Holy, Holy, by:  The Kurt Carr Singers

 

It is a challenge for most of us to begin to fathom the sovereignty of God.  What must it be like to be without limits or bounds?  More importantly, what must it be like to employ absolute self-sacrificing love as the filter for the actualization of that sovereignty?  When I think about this, my response is constant, jubilant praise and ethical living.

I was awestruck by the notion in verse 24 that God’s attributes are communicated to the trees! We tend to limit God’s attention to humans (and sometimes even just to those who look \ think \ act like us), but the God who created these vessels of praise on the third day and called them “good” continues in loving communication with them.  What a paradigm shift this is! God actually birthed new life from the old cedar and did not just use it as a lesson for the humans but for the trees as well.

This morning,  as I was attempting to write, I was interrupted by Ebony, my little black cat, who demanded “mommy time.”  Regardless of my schedule, she requires 30 minutes of cuddling and stroking, including a few minutes for me to look in her face and tell her how special she is.  The God of this Ezekiel passage, the one who talks to trees, would agree that her needs are just as important as my schedule, as she, too, is part of creation and the redemptive plan of the Sovereign Lord.

As you go through this day, take the time to affirm everyone and everything in your life as a loving expression from the mind of a creative, all loving , all powerful God who made you and everything else and called us good!

Prayer:  O Wonder of Wonders, at this moment we submit to your sovereignty. You who have the whole world in your hands, hold us in our times of need, times of lack, sickness and fear. Remind us that you, who teach lessons to trees will also take care of us.  In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.

The Reverend Dr. Cynthia McCullough