Let the heavens be glad

Again

Posted on by Betsy

March in the Outer Banks is a confused and confusing month. Half winter, half spring, spits of windy days followed by spats of rainy days…it simply can’t make up its mind what season to be. Yet the beauty that surrounds me every waking day, regardless of the weather, is breathtaking. Even on the worst day, this place sings of God’s handiwork.

This beautiful song reinforces that notion that God’s creation has a language of its own. Heaven doesn’t need words. The sky can communicate without them. The days and nights proclaim God’s handiwork by their very existence. We are surrounded by evidence of God’s grace and glory.

In the presence of such majesty, words are unnecessary.

Psalm 19 (Common English Bible)

Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
    the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
2 One day gushes the news to the next,
    and one night informs another what needs to be known.
3 Of course, there’s no speech, no words—
        their voices can’t be heard—
4     but their sound extends throughout the world;
        their words reach the ends of the earth.

When was the last time you stood outside and just reveled in God’s handiwork? With no other thought, petition, need, or want crowding your mind…just the experience of creation informing your soul of God’s presence?

God has made a tent in heaven for the sun.
5 The sun is like a groom
    coming out of his honeymoon suite;
    like a warrior, it thrills at running its course.
6 It rises in one end of the sky;
    its circuit is complete at the other.
        Nothing escapes its heat.

The sun rises every day, bringing light, heat, and the promise of new things. You can count on that, just as you can count on God’s presence in your situation. So no matter what you are going through right now, know this: God is with you. God is here. God redeems.

If you forgot that, just go outside and look up.

Again by Michelle Robertson

Judging With Equity

Posted on by Betsy

Let’s talk about the word EQUITY. Miriam-Webster offers this definition: justice according to natural law or right, specifically freedom from bias or favoritism.

Equity is the goal of institutions that strive to break down barriers built on prejudice, privilege, and preconceptions born in bias. I serve on a committee established to address diversity, equity, and inclusion at my alma mater and it has been an eye-opener in regard to calling out institutional bias and favoritism. My daughter just cast a vote to eliminate preferential treatment of ”legacy” granddaughters, sisters, and daughters of alumnae in her sorority. The sorority’s national council is proposing that legacies should be discontinued, as this practice contributes to a lack of equity and is a barrier to the inclusion of minority women.

Equity is a biblical concept as well. In Psalm 96 we see the statement that God will judge the people with equity.

Psalm 96 (New Revised Standard Version)

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord is king!
    The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
    He will judge the peoples with equity.”

If the Lord judges with equity, that suggests that he watches and evaluates his people’s behavior without bias or favoritism. He doesn’t see color. He doesn’t see privilege. He doesn’t see economic status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or even past history.

God sees the heart in its current state and make assessments based on that clear and unbiased vision.

Oh, if only his children could do likewise! Let’s face it…we all judge people as well. But rarely do we judge with equity. If we could, all of the division we experience right now would disappear. All of the hate, the prejudice, the profiling, and the anger would be replaced with joy. The earth would rejoice at the harmony that equity would produce.

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12     let the field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13     before the Lord; for he is coming,
    for he is coming to judge the earth.

Friends if you long for this, just wait. When the Lord returns equity will be the rule of law. There will be no more division…only his righteousness and truth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with his truth.

Come, Lord Jesus. Come.

Let The Heavens Be Glad by Michelle Robertson