May Newsletter

Pastor Nathaniel Walther

¹³ He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. ¹⁴ He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: ¹⁵ wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. ¹⁶ The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. ¹⁷ There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers. (Psalm 104)

If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to feel upbeat during this time of the year.  Even all the rain and severe weather can’t dampen the welcome change from winter as the world turns green around us.

We can explain it, of course.   As the earth revolves around the sun, the earth’s axial tilt slowly causes the sun to rise higher in the northern hemisphere, which causes warm, moist air to move north from the Gulf of Mexico and displace cold, dry Canadian air.  This battleground of low pressures brings storms to our skies and water to our fields.  Combined with the rising temperatures and longer days, it also prompts the plants to do what they are designed to do. (And we could say so much more about the wonders of biology and photosynthesis!)

All of which is very true… but can we see something greater in it?  For all the wonders that science reveals to us, it cannot remove the miracle from the equation.  As our Psalm reminds us, it is truly amazing what God has done, putting this system into place and providing for us as only he can do!  

That is especially true when you consider it doesn’t have to work out so well.  We see plenty of things fall apart in a fallen world.  Whether it’s an issue with your kids, your job or your health, or one of those dreaded home & auto issues, our lives can feel so broken at times.  Similarly, what’s to stop sin from causing the world’s hydrological cycle quickly to spin out of control? If that happened, life would quickly cease on this planet!  But God steps in, God stops sin, God keeps it all working.

All of this is anchored in the greatest miracle God ever performed.  We can similarly explain our salvation: there are fancy theological terms like propitiation or vicarious atonement, and we could calculate our sin & Christ’s sacrifice in almost mathematical terms.  But more than that, take a moment right now to think about the miracle that Jesus accomplished for us at the cross and empty tomb.  Then, as this Psalm bids us to do, simply marvel: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15)  Amen.