The Rev. William (BT) Gilligan ’11, Pastor, California United Methodist Church, California, Pa.
Scripture
Psalm 147:12-20
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He grants peace within your borders;
he fills you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down hail like crumbs —
who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!
Devotional
Securing gates, blessing children, establishing borders, giving the best wheat, commanding the earth, spreading snow, scattering frost, and proclaiming words to people. So many things God is doing—how does God possibly balance all of them? How does God keep all those plates spinning at the same time? The simple answer is that God is the most supreme being ever. While that answer is correct, it also leaves out one of the more personal aspects of God.
The whole reason God is working this hard and is this dedicated is because God is playing favorites. God is biased toward those whom God created. The God of the universe is insanely in love with humanity, not just humanity as a whole, but you. The God of the universe who commands the earth is madly in love with you. You are loved so much that the same God who commands the earth was born of a virgin and lived among us as Jesus. In the midst of all that we have going on this time of year it can be very easy to forget about the reason why we do these things. Just as we keep all the plates spinning for those we love, the God of the universe keeps all the plates spinning because of a great love for us that was exemplified in Jesus.
Prayer
Almighty God, with so many plates to keep spinning remind us that you keep all the plates spinning and keep it all going because of your great love for us. Amen.