Can It Really Be That Simple?
Good Morning Friends,
In our claiming of power and things material…in our use of resources even the 86,400 seconds of each day… even as we are invited to come into God’s presence to worship, we need to remember that
we all live on the same planet and everything on it and in it and above it belongs to God. We are interconnected with a shared home…earth. And the reality is that we are going to have to learn to live simpler so others can simply live. Interestingly, many believe that if we all lived like Jesus everything would be in perfect balance. Can It Really Be That Simple?
Scripture: These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 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; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
Genesis 2:4-15 (NRSV)
Of David. A Psalm. The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
Psalm 24:1 (NRSV)
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
John 15:16-17 (NRSV)
They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).
John 20:13-16 (NRSV)
Message: God owns everything. This is the key message of today’s Psalm. He is the creator and gives us enough food, shelter and clothing to live but we often want more. And God often gives us more material things. But there is a limit. The creation accounts in today’s Genesis scripture contains some boundaries. And in this symbolic and narrative language, profound teachings about our existence and human life is revealed. It becomes clear in the full reading of the Genesis creation stories that our existence is grounded in a closely intertwined relationship with God, with others and with the earth itself. Maybe how we relate to the earth is more important to our stewardship responsibility than our behavior would indicate. For example, collectively we who live in the United States have far more than our share. I tried out a footprint calculator at http://www.earthday.org/footprint-calculator and discovered that if all the 7,361,446,890 population of the world today lived as I do, we would need five earths to sustain that lifestyle. Then I calculated for the lifestyle of Jesus as I imagined him living and yes, if everyone lived as Jesus, only one world is needed. In Jesus our human, social, cultural, environmental, spiritual and economic concerns are met. He is the vine and we are the branches. Maybe it is that simple.
Pray that we redeem the time we have by following the role model God has provided for us. Pray we not be led astray from the pure and simple devotion to Christ. Pray that we first seek the Kingdom of God and God’s spiritual gifts before we fill our houses to overflowing with material stuff. Pray that God lighten our burdens so we might gain entrance into His presence. Pray that God bless us when we seek His will. Pray that when blessed we bless others. Pray that we become stewards of the common good and learn to live more simply so others may simply live. Pray we bear fruit. Pray we see Jesus as the Gardner and Teacher. Pray we learn to love intertwined in healthy relationships.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 