Aligning with the Designing God

I wasn’t there, so I can’t be sure of the details, but based on what has happened since, I have a pretty good idea what happened.  It wasn’t dark, light saturated everything, though its source remains something of a mystery.  From what I understand, the sky was empty and the ground was barren, but this was a considerable improvement over the conditions just a few days before.  I’d say that those present waited with bated breath, held in suspense, curious as to what came next – but there wasn’t anyone else there, at least not anyone like us. 

Then someone spoke, someone with authority and power, who could shape the world with the voice alone. 

And with a Word, that which I have struggled with my entire life came into existence: Time.  From out of nowhere there were suddenly stars and a moon and a sun – and so everything needed to measure that which would measure me as late, or running late, or way behind, for all-time. 

The days were marked out and the calendar was set.  Times, dates, and seasons were clearly marked and separated from each other, just as light and dark had been rather recently. 

And then – again, I can’t be certain, I wasn’t there – the voice whispered: And James Johnson will attend church every Sunday morning on the calendar for all his days. 

To be sure, my attendance record for all-the-Sundays-of-my-life is less than perfect, but without a doubt every Sunday morning that I have even the tiniest memory of has come with the weight of a Divine Mandate: You should be in church!

Which, honestly, I found quite annoying when I was a younger man. Because all I wanted to do on a Sunday morning was sit on the couch, drink a cup of coffee, and watch black and white movies.  To me, that was the perfect sabbath. 

But that’s the thing about God: God is good all the time – which means God knows what is a good planting of time better than we do, particularly if we are going to grow as the People of God.  Sowing our time as we want just leads to reaping a People of Us, and we know how that crop turns out. 

Worship and sabbath are not reserved for Sunday morning alone, but Sunday morning is a time that has been set aside for this purpose.  And in this time when all schedules seem to be upset and disheveled, we would be a foolish people not to take advantage of it – even if it’s not the exact location or time we thought it would be. 

And yes, James, even if it doesn’t involve James Stewart or Ingrid Bergman. 

And God said, ‘Let the Church worship on Sunday morning!’

And just like God, I think we should celebrate at just how good that is!