“Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh
what a beautiful day,
I’ve
got a wonderful feeling,
Everything’s
going my way.” *
Is that the tune
that you were singing when you arose this morning? Do you find yourself rejoicing at the
prospects of a bright and wonderful day?
Well, according to God’s word in Ephesians 1:22, that’s exactly what we
should be doing! It says that “God has put everything under the control of
Christ. He has made Christ the head of
everything for the good of the church.” (God’s Word ©)
John Gill in his Exposition of the Entire Bible further defines the
phrase “for the good of the church”
as for the “infinite benefit” or “advantage” of the church.
It was that word “advantage” that really caught my
attention as soon as I sat down at my desk this morning. It was like I didn’t have the time to even
think about the direction of my morning study time, I was drawn immediately to
that thought! Webster’s dictionary
defines “attention” as “any state, condition, or circumstance,
favorable to success, prosperity, interest or reputation.” That kind of says it all doesn’t it? When you infuse that definition into Paul’s
words written in Ephesians 1:22, you can’t help but see the outcome of your day
in a beautiful way!
Yesterday my wife
and I went to the little local nursery near our home and purchased the makings
of our summer vegetable garden. I then
spent the next couple of hours planting the various tomato and zucchini plants
into fresh new garden soil, trimmed and cleaned all the winter yuk and dead
growth from of our outdoor potted plants and then attacked the outrageous
growth that had overtaken the 2 original roses that were in the patio when we
moved in. Later on, after cleaning up
the debris and brushing all the dirt (what
is it with dogs and new garden soil…), leaves, flower pedals, and spider
webs off the dog’s thick coat, we contentedly retired into the house and I began
to fix dinner.
It had been a good
day, and working in the garden enriched the experience like a luscious layer of
chocolate icing does to a batch of warm brownies just out of the oven. I was not too sure that my wife shared my
same level of enthusiasm, though! It had
been a pretty active day for her as we had also taken the dog on a long walk
previous to our trip to the nursery and our adventures in the back patio. When we came back into the house she immediately
plopped herself on the couch and sat there with a sort of dazed look on her
face. Well, I wasn’t about to let the
devil steal her joy so I immediately began to make up and sing silly songs to
her as I scurried around the kitchen with pots and pans flying, the dog under
my feet hoping for a morsel to drop to the floor, and the microwave buzzing as
I defrosted some lasagna.
What I didn't remember was that all the windows in the house were wide open and the whole
neighborhood was probably listening to my outlandish singing! When the realization finally did hit me I
broke into laughter, whispered to my wife what was happening and then exclaimed
aloud “Well, who cares… they probably
need to hear it too,” and went back to my song and dance! I was full of the joy of the Lord and just
figured that all my neighbors (remember
we live in a set of cluster homes that are in very close proximity to each
other…) needed to know and share it with me!
As Christians, you
and I have an advantage! We have the
advantage of Christ’s total and complete victory over sin, sickness, lack,
fear, depression and anxiety. That’s the
truth that should give us the incentive to rise up from our beds and sing of
the advantage over the events of each day – whether they look promising or not! So have a beautiful morning, and have a
beautiful day. Bask in that wonderful
feeling that everything is going your way, for:
“All the sounds of the earth are like music,
All
the sounds of the earth are like music,
The
breeze is so busy it don’t miss a tree,
And
an ol’ Weepin’ Willer is laughin’ at me.”
Have a great
weekend. Stay in tune to His Word and
keep asking yourself… “What am I
expecting today?”
* “Oh What A Beautiful Mornin’”
Music by Richard Rodgers, lyric by Oscar Hammerstein
II
Copyright 1943 by Williamson Music
Awesome Jim...I was raised listening to my Mom singing. She would sing at any opportunity no matter who was listening. I wish I could be more like her, (and you!) Lori
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wonderful comment! and that's exactly where I got my desires to sing a lot... from my Mom's singing around the house. Then when my wife and I were first married we had an older neighbor next door who would sing Ethel Merman style while she did her dishes in her kitchen right next to our bedroom window! Go ahead and sing - Throw abandonment to the wind!!! Remember the Word says to make a joyful noise!!!
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