Discipling Life

Today is Holy Trinity Sunday. This Sunday invites us to stand at the threshold of mystery and wonder. The scriptures for this day do not try to explain God as though God could be reduced to a formula; instead, they draw us into worship of the living God who creates, blesses, saves, and sends. There is a beautiful mystery at the heart of our faith: the God who commands the stars is the very same God who chooses to dwell in our midst. God is not a distant, detached observer, but a relational and life-giving community of love, constantly reaching out to connect with us. The opening words of Genesis reveal a God who is active and life-giving from the very beginning. "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth" and "a wind from God swept over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:1-2). Before order emerged from chaos, God's Spirit was already present, hovering over creation with purpose and care. The world did not come into being by accident. It was b...

Psalm 8 is a hymn of praise that celebrates the majesty of God revealed in creation and the surprising dignity given to humanity. As the psalmist looks at the heavens, “the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established,” he marvels that God is still mindful of human beings (vv. 3-4). Though humans seem small in the vast universe, God has crowned them “with glory and honor” and entrusted them with care over creation (v. 5). The psalm holds together awe and calling, reminding us that while God’s greatness is beyond measure, God’s grace draws near, inviting us to live responsibly and faithfully within the world God has made. The psalmist holds together two truths that seem almost impossible to reconcile. God is vast beyond comprehension, and yet God is attentive, mindful, and caring toward us. Psalm 8 reminds us that God’s love surrounds us. The beauty of creation, the pull toward goodness, the longing for meaning, and the quiet stirring of worship are all si...

The photo today is a picture I took of my back yard at sunrise after moving into our home. There is something holy about watching the sun rise after a long night. The quiet light slowly spreads across the sky, revealing trees, fields, birds, and faces once hidden in darkness. In those moments, it can feel as though creation itself is waking up again. Genesis begins with that same movement from darkness into light, from emptiness into abundance, from chaos into beauty. “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth” (v. 1), God spoke life into being and called it good. ( Read today’s text ) Again and again throughout Genesis 1, God delights in creation. Light is good. The earth is good. The seas and skies are good. Plants, animals, and human beings are all declared good. Finally, after creating humankind in his image, “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good” (v. 31). This opening chapter reminds us that creation is not an accident or a burden to...

Think of those moments that bring on such a sense of awe. For me, it can be standing on a beach, watching the waves roll in one after another. Or standing at an overlook seeing one of the magnificent vistas on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Or even a moment of seeings a thunderstorm rolling in across an open sky from a distance. Even the sudden whoosh and movement in the leaves and branches of trees from a gust of wind. In those moments, we sense something deeper than just the beauty of nature. We sense the sheer abundance of a loving Creator who delights in making life flourish. Psalm 104 invites us to notice that holy chorus. The psalmist looks around at the world with wonder and says, “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” (v. 24). The seas, the animals, the mountains, the plants, and even the rhythm of day and night all bear witness to the wisdom and generosity of God. The psalmist sees the great and wide sea teeming w...