Jeremiah 18:6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
As I was walking down the street, I was privileged to hear a mother singing to her baby – in what language, I do not know. It occurred to me that, in probably every culture, parents must sing to their children. That made me wonder, in what language does God sing to us?
Our language may constrain our ability to understand God, but God is not constrained by our language. He is not constrained by our own lack of words, for he is able to speak to us through his creation – even the stars and children, through the works of the hands of his image-bearers, through our imaginations and dreams, through stories and poetry, through our conscience and sub-conscience. He is able to talk, even sing to us, in all sorts of ways even we are not listening.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Psalm 8:2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
It is his song that we sing to our children for he gave us the gift of music. It is his love that we show when we take care of our children for he gave us the gift of compassion. It is his provision we give when we provide food and shelter for our children because he is the one who provides for us. Even if the gifts we share are not perfect, they are his gifts. This world may be broken, we may be broken, but God is able to make broken things whole and good things glorious.
Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
The love that we show may seem imperfect, but because it is his love we share then we cannot hide it. Even if we are incompetent or rebellious, we may distort but we cannot hide the glory of God. The lumbering train banging and screeching on ill-maintained railroad tracks cannot hide God’s transcendence made visible through his image-bearers. Even if we mistreat others, our misused gifts are nevertheless the gifts God has given.
2 Corinthians 9:6-9 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”
Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
If we are aware of our own brokenness, we should not be surprised that our society as a whole is broken. If we can also admit that, within our brokenness, we are poor – that we need each other, that we need to be generous, mutually sharing our gifts with each other then we can all abound. It is within our mutual brokenness that we can be listening for God’s voice. Perhaps when we are listening to each other, particularly to those with whom we cannot understand and with whom we disagree, then we can hear God sing.
1 Corinthians 14:21 In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”
Psalm 96:11-13 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.
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