Servants of God's Servants

May/Discipline

19 May 2010

"And the first day that I came here there came to me an animal, called otter, and brought me a fish, and a hearth-flint to make a fire withal...And the same messenger would come to me every third day with this refection..."

- Anonymous, Vita Brendani (Irish, 12th century, from an earlier ms.)

Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.

- Psalm 119.90, 91

In Ephesians 1.22, 23 Paul wrote that God is putting all things - all of creation - under the feet of our exalted Savior and King, for the sake of the Church. Creation in all its variety, abundance, and beauty is given to Christ for His purposes in building and blessing His people.

Celtic Christians understood this, and the literature from that period includes many stories like the one introduced above. Brendan and his company met a hermit on a desolate island, who explained to them his experience with the otter which kept him alive until he could begin to care for himself.

Such accounts may have an element of truth in them; mainly, however, they seem to be vehicles for explaining the Celtic love of creation and their awareness of the sovereignty of God, Who supplied all their needs through the creation and its riches. Especially in certain of the poetry of this period does this fascination with, wonder about, and love for the creation come to the fore. It's beautiful to read.

We must not take the creation for granted. Creation-keeping and creational theology are important disciplines for the life of faith. God has put at Jesus' disposal all the wealth of the whole cosmos to care for His people as they pursue His work. Just as the hermit found creation sufficient and timely to meet his needs, so we do as well today. Do we take the time to appreciate the intricacies of God's gracious provision? And do we thank and praise Him for all the servants of His servants which He sends our way each day?

Today in ReVision: In, During - Whatever - Words matter, or, at least, they should.

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T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.