“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.
the world and those who live in it.” Psalm 24:1
The rock boulders are the Lord’s. The green grass is the Lord’s. The mountains beyond me with their Christmas tree farms are the Lord’s. The ridges behind them, the Smoky Mountains far to the south beyond sight where I may hike some other year, are the Lord’s. I am the Lord’s. As are all the mosquitoes, Lyme carrying deer ticks and poison ivy. But stop! Read the whole Psalm 24, because where the poet takes us next is important too. If everything we see is the Lord’s, says the poet, then open up the gates so that the King of Glory may come in. Not just the Jerusalem gates of the psalmist’s context, open up our hearts. Open up our 21st century minds. Open up our homes and congregations. Open up our day. Open up our schedule! Take a deep breath and open up all that is in us and all those things that are most important to us and let the King of glory (whom we as Christians identify as Jesus) come in. Give him breathing space so he can breathe…life…back…into us. And if all the earth is the Lord’s, could any one of us possibly be an exception?
Suggestions:
1. Take this verse with you and ponder its meaning for you throughout the day. What do you notice? What do you wonder? What is hard to let belong to the Lord?
2. Or read all of Psalm 24 to discover how this verse fits into the psalm.
3. Or comment with a photo of your own that illustrates something that belongs to the Lord.
Tomorrow’s verse: Psalm 25:4-5
Starting January 1, 2016, for 150 days I am posting a daily psalm verse with a photo that is a visual meditation on the text for me. Each day a verse from the next psalm is chosen until all 150 psalms have been featured. To participate you may subscribe to my blog at https://elainedent.net or “friend” me on Facebook and watch for the daily links to blog posts. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer and most of the photos are from a cell phone or small camera while hiking the Appalachian Trail or the C&O Canal/Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
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