God Delights in Taking Responsibility

It never ceases to amaze me how God positively delights in taking responsibility for stuff that we would prefer to explain away. Take Psalms 147.17, for instance (my Bible reading highlight for the day). Whatever the natural explanation for snow and ice, the Psalmist claims that God is behind it all, that God is the primary cause. It is God who hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs. God is ultimately responsible for all that happens in nature and no one else. He allows earthquakes and natural disasters and storms and the writers of Scripture were never hesitant to assign this to him. It is a breath-taking acceptance of responsibility by God.

As usual, Charles Spurgeon (who is my favorite commentator on the Psalms by far) manages to be both rigorously scriptural and brilliantly devotional at the same time. He writes:

That which God sends, whether it be heat or cold, no man can defy with impunity, but he is happy who bows before it with childlike submission. When we cannot stand before God we will gladly lie at his feet, or nestle under his wings.

Graduating to Glory

My beloved childhood pastor, Bob Warren, used to say that believer's who died had graduated to glory. I've always remembered that and find that particular concept quite true. God calls us to faithfulness on earth, to do the work that he gives us, to—as John Piper puts it—"not waste our lives." Our death then is a graduation of sorts, a completion of our work and a going home to glory, not because of what we have done, but because of the righteousness of Christ imputed (applied, reckoned) to us.

Cherie's mom will soon graduate to glory. From our perspective the parting is difficult and painful, but not so great that we do not recognize the joy of her homecoming and the celebration at her graduation party.