A Constant We Can Count On
A Constant We Can Count On
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
– Psalm 118:24
I am so thankful for each of you. On this new Easter Monday, we celebrate the resurrection with this delightful recognition: This is the day that the Lord has made! How good it is to give thanks and to rejoice and be glad in it!
I am thankful, too, for the many ways you are coping during these strange times. As I have communicated with many of you through calls, emails, texts, and visits (via Zoom, or carefully socially distanced across yards, decks, patios, sidewalks, and fences), I have been impressed by your resiliency, your positive spirit, your “can do” attitudes. I have enjoyed hearing of pleasant discoveries of new hobbies, fun games, interesting books, good movies (or not), new online technologies, new communication techniques, more exercise, more time with family and with yourself.
I have also been thankful for your honesty: these are hard times for some of you. Loneliness is real. Fear looms large. Suffering is more widespread than we would like to think. Not all of us are connected through social media. And some of you are exhausted, working longer or even more dangerous hours.
And yet, Easter reminds us again: there is more to our lives than only today or just what we can see and touch. Since this is a day the Lord has made, I am surrounded by a universe of possibility. I need not be stymied by an unaccustomed routine or hemmed in by sheltering in place. Even in potential exhaustion or existential danger, this day is God-made. Socially-distanced though we may be, I have the grand privilege of sharing this day with you and with all of God’s creation. I can rejoice at the wonder of this new and day. And we can be glad together, even while separated; for you and I are handcrafted masterpieces, custom-designed by an Artist of both grace and glory. You are a gift. Your life is a vital component in my ability to fully rejoice. And this makes our current separation that much harder for us all.
But this, too, shall pass. For in the far-reaching rhythm of God’s providence, COVID-19 will be a distant memory in the not-to-distant future. And when that day comes, I pray that we can look back on this period as a treasured time of reflection, perspective, reconnection, and new appreciation. But in the meantime:
CONSIDER:
Remember Einstein’s famous equation E=mc2 (Energy = mass multiplied by the speed of light, squared)? The “c” in the equation stands for “constant,” or the speed of light. Regardless of all the other weird stuff that occurs in the universe, there continues to be one thing we can count on according to physics—the constant speed of light. The Theory of Relativity proclaims in a physical way what the Bible wants us to know in a spiritual way.
In spite of the complexity, craziness, confusion, and COVID-19, God’s presence around us, in us, and among us continues to be the constant we can count on. Even when complications rise to the point of despair, the unchangeable nature of God’s redemptive compassion always is. Resurrection is real. The reality of God’s Easter truth, in the mystery of God’s providence, reclaims each of us. This is, even when we fail; even we feel incapable of reclaiming ourselves, the resurrection of Jesus proclaims that we, too, shall rise. We have more than we know. We are more than we see. We’re given more than we imagine.
Claim this resurrection truth today. Recognize with every step you take the holiness of your living. Feel in all that you experience the sacred measure of God’s gift in what is and what is yet to come.
So may your day today be as lovely as the potential God offers; and may each mysterious moment expand with wonder-filled delight. For on this blessed Easter Monday:
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Tonight, also enjoy your evening; if possible, take a brisk walk; eat a light, healthy meal. Get cozy with an interesting book. Give thanks for a good day and for God’s many gifts.
From:
David Jordan
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church Decatur