Psalm 145:1-5 (CEB)

I will lift you up high, my God, the true king.
    I will bless your name forever and always.
I will bless you every day.
    I will praise your name forever and always.
The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
    God’s greatness can’t be grasped.
One generation will praise your works to the next one,
    proclaiming your mighty acts.
They will talk all about the glorious splendor of your majesty;
    I will contemplate your wondrous works.


Reflection

Human time is linear time. We don’t possess God’s cosmic ability to see through time and space all at once, in all dimensions. We haven’t developed Kin-dom sight yet, to see God’s Kin(g)-dom happening right now, and yet to come. We see life by looking back, and looking forward, sometimes we see the now, but without understanding it in the moment. Our world view is a line in which we’re standing, serving as one of the saints of and praising God, even when that’s hard.

We’re all saints, not because of what we’ve done on our own, but because we’re redeemed by the love of Christ, made holy in God’s sight. John Wesley, founder of Methodism said, we are “sanctified,” made holy by God’s grace at work in us as we continue to be “perfected in God’s love.” Saints are not only those gone on to glory, but also we who are living and all the generations to come. We are blessed to be part of the great community of saints united in Christ, serving in the Kin-dom of God.

We are all connected to the saints stretching back to the Old Testament, and all the way to the first followers of Jesus. In this line are all the saints living, dead and future, all united in the Kin-dom of God, that is both now and becoming. A great cloud of witnesses stretching across time and space proclaiming God’s love and mighty acts, one generation to the next generation.

God is great and worthy of praise. We bless God’s name forever for God’s faithfulness. We see the evidence of God’s mighty works of salvation in each of us who are called to love others, according to God’s purpose. Where would we be without God’s grace and the saints in our lives? Those who prayed for us, listened to us, comforted us, invited us to church, and nurtured us in our faith. Think about the support of our community of faith, all the saints that have served as the hands and feet of Jesus, who responded to the call of God. One generation praising God’s mighty works to the next, the whole communion of saints.

by Jeneene Reduker


For Pondering & Prayer

Corrie Ten Boom, survivor of the Holocaust said, “When I enter that beautiful city, and the saints all around me appear, I hope that someone will tell me, it was you who invited me here.”  Think about your place in the divine line of faithful saints.  Who have been the saints in your life, who shared or showed God’s love to you? Praise God and give thanks for them.  Who is God calling you to invite to church, to pray for, to listen to and to show comfort? Who can you show God’s love to today?

Prayer: Loving God, we bless your holy name forever and praise you for all your mighty works. We give you thanks for the saints you have placed in our lives. Help us each day to serve you by showing your love to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.