Lord of the Seasons
Scripture Reading — Acts 14:8-18
It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
I love living in Chicago.
Not everyone may share this sentiment. Some people complain that it is too hot in July and too cold in January.
For me, living in Chicago gives me a clear sense of the four seasons—the blossoming of new life in spring, the sunny days of summer, the colorful leaves of fall, and the hexagonal snowflakes of winter.
I sometimes imagine that similar thoughts inspired pastor Maltbie Babcock, while he took walks along the Niagara Escarpment, to write “This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres. . . . This is my Father’s world. Oh, let me ne’er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.”
We need reminders like this because at times it seems that the world around us can be chaotic. Natural disasters sweep over us, and we can feel so powerless. At other times we can be so proud of our achievements that we need the reminder that this is, after all, our Father’s world.
We can learn well from what Paul says in today’s Bible reading: “We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and . . . everything in them.”
“This is my Father’s world: why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns; let earth be glad!” In Christ, Amen.
About the author — Jimmy Tai-On Lin
Rev. Jimmy Lin is the Chinese ministry leader of The Back to God Hour. With his staff in Palos Heights and Hong Kong, Rev. Lin has ministered to over 1.3 billion Chinese-speaking people around the world for 16 years through radio, literature, CD/DVD, Internet, and text message. His wife, Doris, is one of the translators of Today into the Chinese language, which now has a circulation of more than 45,000 copies.
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