I awoke early this Sunday morning to the sound of the birds singing. They were doing what they do every morning. They depend on God who supplies their needs and sustains them, but they don’t know it’s Sunday. As the dawn brightened, the dogs started barking as they do every morning. They don’t know it’s Sunday.
Who knows it is Sunday? Who will alter their schedules this day because it is the Lord’s Day? I hear the sound of the buses and some early morning traffic. Do the bus drivers know it is Sunday? The buses are not filled with people as they usually are. What does that mean? There is not as much traffic as normal. Does this mean people know it is the Lord’s Day?
Before long, I snap back to reality from my day-dreaming and contemplation. It is Sunday. What will I do today? Will I recognize the nature and sovereignty of God? Will I communicate my respect and adoration in honor and praise for the God of the universe? What will I do today in response to God’s demonstration of his love and his desire for relationship with me as a small part of his grand creation? Will I find renewal and the restoration of his reflection within me? Yes that is what I will do–just as God’s faithful people have done on the first day of the week for almost 2000 years.
For me, today will be different. I will worship–but in a language not my heart language. I will assemble with God’s people, not in my home congregation but in a combined worship of a thousand Christians from different countries and local churches. Our desire will be one–to recognize and declare that there is a God of heaven who created, sustains, and watches over this world. We will praise and honor him for his nature and glory, giving him the fruit of our lips in songs of praise. We will respond with gratitude to his sacrificial love as we break the bread and drink the wine. We will listen again to the story and recommit as we are reminded that we are his presence in this world, reflecting his nature and glory and love.
This Sunday will be new and fresh. I seek and pray for that each Sunday, but some Sundays are routine. Today in a different language I will pay especially close attention as we Christians greet and share love and blessing, sing and pray, share the Supper, and hear the Word. May God’s people never lose the wonder! It’s Sunday again–Day of Resurrection and Day of Promise. The remembrance of his Promises to us; our Promise to him.