...you wouldn't believe what's up there!

God of Creation, all-powerful, all wise,

Lord of the universe rich with surprise,

Maker, Sustainer, and Ruler of all,

we are your children --- You hear when we call.

---Margaret Clarkson, 1987

Back when I was young and could sleep on the ground, I often spent a weekend camping with friends in the mountains of north Georgia, enjoying scenes of rugged beauty around every bend and over every hill. Being carefree (I did mention that we were young, didn’t I?), we often knew only the general area we wanted to explore, and this led to lots of wondering. I don’t mean ‘wandering’; I mean ‘wondering’, as in, “I wonder where we are now?” One particular weekend we were more aimless than usual, and had gotten onto a one-and-a-half-lane road, headed almost straight up into the sky (no easy feat for a baby-blue Monte Carlo!). At a bend in the road, we met an oncoming van, and inched over as far as we dared to let it pass. As it did, the driver waved and greeted us; we asked what was up ahead. Now, what we meant was, “Is there a camping spot up ahead?” But he had a bigger answer in mind. “Man,” he said earnestly, “you wouldn’t believe what’s up there! There’s trees, and mountains, and grass…”

That dude up on the mountain saw the world with a sense of wonder, with a delight I am usually too jaded to enjoy. In today’s hymn, Margaret Clarkson names the God of a creation ‘rich with surprise.’ As I meditate on the concept of a universe created teeming with delight and overflowing with mind-blowing creativity, I think of eclipses, lightning storms, giraffes…and grace.

You wouldn’t believe what’s up there!

...little things

The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord;

She is his new creation, by water and the Word:

From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride,

With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.

---Samuel J. Stone, 1866

I’ve heard the stories, and you probably have, too. Churches that split over what color the new carpet will be, or whether to sing the Amen at the end of hymns, or whether to play drums in the sanctuary. And I am sure that, in the midst of the discussions, each of these issues seemed important to their adherents. We could make a list of bigger, more theologically-based issues that divide Christianity into denominations, factions, sects, and even warring camps. Emotional issues, and closely-held; the sort that draw tears and raise voices and blood pressure.

I always come back to this hymn’s first line. Jesus is the one foundation of the Church. Jesus --- his teachings, his life, his example, his leading --- is the strong base on which we build all that our community of faith is. The little things are just that…little things. And while there is a place in life for the little things, let us never forget the one foundation, the big thing that holds us all up. Let us remember Jesus, our foundation.

...just details

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.

---Edward Mote, 1834

We pin our hopes on many things --- the stock market, savings, a spouse or parent, hard work, luck, the list goes on. As Christians we may put our hope in a minister or ministry, a local church, or a denomination. We may even hope in a particular interpretation of scripture, or a certain way of reading the Bible.

This hymn reminds me that there is one rock solid enough for the construction of my hopes, and that is no human institution, religious or secular. That rock is the person of Jesus---his life, sacrifice, and triumph over the powers that were in the world.

Everything else is just details. Sinking sand. Christ is the solid Rock.

...bound like that

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it; seal it for Thy courts above.

---Robert Robinson, 1758

It might be easy to see this verse as a guilt trip. What kind of lousy follower am I? Prone to wander, in debt to grace, I need a fetter --- a chain --- to bind me to God. Ouch. Then I remember that this hymn, as so much of life, is not about me. This hymn explores not human nature, frail and failing though it be. This text is all about the nature of God, a God who loves us enough to pursue us, to bind us to Godself with chains --- chains made not of might or threat, or violence, but of goodness. And in my inmost heart, I long to be held close to the heart of God, with fetters that tender. I am a debtor. For God’s unfailing mercy, I owe a debt I will never repay. Through God’s grace, freely given, I owe nothing.

Because of the weightlessness of my bonds, I will serve always out of love and gratitude. I’m bound like that.