I think everyone in this part of the country loves the rain. When we get the long soaking rains that last several days, the water seems to come from everywhere. As it falls from the sky, it bubbles up from the grass and runs down in channels like small streams making its way to the rivers. Everything is saturated, and after a long spell of storms, it may take days before the runoff is complete. It’s as if the rain fills the whole of the earth. Then the clouds break, the sun comes out, and its rays fill the earth with life-giving light. Every plant turns a bright green and sometimes you might think you can see it grow. The earth is filled with the goodness of light and water so that life may flourish.

Thanks to our farmers and ranchers, food is cultivated from God’s gifts within creation and we eat abundantly. Thanks to engineers and construction workers, our lakes capture the runoff to ensure we have life-giving water to drink. We build our civilizations out of God’s life-giving gifts. When we care for the Lord’s created order, we become part of the goodness God is doing in our world. When we don’t, we may find ourselves working against the will of God, which is to be good stewards of His creation.

But there is something more important that seeks to fill creation for life to flourish. In the book of Ephesians, we read of Jesus ascending to the heavens that he might fill all things. Think of the rain-soaked earth and the sun-drenched days that work together to make life possible. They can turn a drought-stricken land into a new creation almost overnight. Ephesians speaks to us of a new creation to be filled by the goodness of God in Christ. Like the rain and sun that permeates our world and brings out the best of creation, Christ fills us and seeks to bring His life-giving water and light to all of creation. And out of the generosity of God, the Lord has invited Christ’s church to be a part of the wonder and joy of His life-giving, filling of all things.

Just as we need the farmers, ranchers, engineers, and laborers to use what has been given in the rain and sun, the Lord is looking for His church to be part of His filling of all things. Just as we can harm creation with poor stewardship, the church can become a hindrance to what God is doing in Christ.

To those who argue that a good and powerful God would not allow the innocent to be harmed, I suggest we look in the mirror to see if we are doing our part in restoring creation. Are we showing the world the truth that is Jesus Christ? The church has been given a role in Jesus’s restoration and redemption of the people of God’s creation. When the universal church or the local church presents Jesus to the world in a manner befitting of his love and power, we are part of the redemption. When we confuse our role and see Christ’s church as a place of self-centered individuals only concerned with ourselves, we cease to become effective as disciples of Christ to the world.

Let no evil talk come out of your mouths but only what is good for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you (Hebrews 4:29-32).

Some may think this is a negative writing concerning the universal church, but it is not. Instead, it is a reminder that Jesus has made us to shape our lives around him so that we may help shape the world around our Lord. Read Hebrews chapter 4 and consider the challenge of following Jesus and the opportunity to be a living part of the Body of Christ, here and now. After all, what more can a person ask for than to be forgiven and redeemed by God, with an opportunity to be part of Jesus’s filling the world with love and salvation? It’s a lot to think about, so join us on Sunday as we look deeper into who we are as disciples of Jesus Christ.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

Pastor Rick