Ways of seeing
Psalm 96 is a song of joy to the Lord who rules the heavens and earth in glory and majesty. It speaks of a predictable world that cannot be moved; a world where God puts things right with equity and justice; a joyful world where nature and nations join in the jubilation.
But as we look out on this world this morning, what do we see? We see an unpredictable world, where climate change can fill a lovely spring day with unease. We see a world where there is injustice, war and threat of war, sex slaves and child labour. Where undeserved poverty and undeserved riches both distort lives. We see a sad world, where relationships are broken and unnamed anxieties haunt even the comfortable. Where is God in all this? Why is his sovereignty so hard to detect?
In one of his memorable comments, John Stott said that Christians are realists. They are not pessimists, full of gloom. They are not utopian optimists sure that humanity can build a better a world. We do see the world as a desperately unhappy place. But if that is all we see then this psalm, and indeed the whole message of the Christian gospel, has failed to reach our hearts. The promise is that God does reign. He will redeem and restore the heavens and the earth. We can begin to sing a song of joy now. In many points of our lives today, in achievements, in relationships, in everyday beauties and pleasures, the song of joy will breakthrough - if we let it.
But we cannot simply sing this song and turn our back on the world. Instead this vision of stability, justice and joy should move us to play our part in bringing this new world about, beginning today.
'Hope is to hear to music of the future; faith is to dance to it today'
Comments
There are currently no comments for this article.
