And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
—Genesis 1:3
Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven...”
—Matthew 6:9-10
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
—John 1:9
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
—2 Corinthians 4:6
The rain has stopped, the clouds have broken, and there's a bit of late afternoon sun before evening. North of here, there are blizzard warnings. South of here, there have been tornado warnings. We make jokes about weather that doesn't quite match the forecasts, but when there is dangerous weather in the projection, the wise pay attention.
Despite the limits of our finite knowledge, we have come to take predictions of hazardous weather seriously. And when a solar eclipse was predicted, we bought appropriate eye protection. In other words, we take for granted the workings of nature and the increasing ability of meteorologists—not to mention astronomers—to tell us what to expect. All of which, of course, is due to the fact that there is order to the workings of nature.
Throughout the story of creation, we read that God said... and it was so. That is all it took.
Humans aren't so cooperative.
When we read the account of creation, when we look to the universe that is so comprehensible that humans have been able to make a start toward understanding it, and then when we join in the prayer that Jesus taught—“your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”—we can take that prayer more personally. Instead of imitating the Pharisee—"I wish that they would do your will; I'm glad I'm not like them."—we can follow the example of the tax collector—"May I follow your will, as obedient as the sun, moon, and stars; Lord, have mercy!"
His Will
He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
—Psalm 147:15-18
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
—Genesis 1:3
Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven...”
—Matthew 6:9-10
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
—John 1:9
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
—2 Corinthians 4:6
The rain has stopped, the clouds have broken, and there's a bit of late afternoon sun before evening. North of here, there are blizzard warnings. South of here, there have been tornado warnings. We make jokes about weather that doesn't quite match the forecasts, but when there is dangerous weather in the projection, the wise pay attention.
Despite the limits of our finite knowledge, we have come to take predictions of hazardous weather seriously. And when a solar eclipse was predicted, we bought appropriate eye protection. In other words, we take for granted the workings of nature and the increasing ability of meteorologists—not to mention astronomers—to tell us what to expect. All of which, of course, is due to the fact that there is order to the workings of nature.
Throughout the story of creation, we read that God said... and it was so. That is all it took.
Humans aren't so cooperative.
When we read the account of creation, when we look to the universe that is so comprehensible that humans have been able to make a start toward understanding it, and then when we join in the prayer that Jesus taught—“your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”—we can take that prayer more personally. Instead of imitating the Pharisee—"I wish that they would do your will; I'm glad I'm not like them."—we can follow the example of the tax collector—"May I follow your will, as obedient as the sun, moon, and stars; Lord, have mercy!"