Thoughts for the Day

The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless his holy name for ever and ever.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I have been cat and dog sitting for family members this year, and the differences between the two kinds of animals is most obvious at feeding time. The cats tend to come to the kitchen when the cats want to, which might mean three times a day, but it could mean only once, or rather optimistically four times a day. However the dog just waits patiently to be called for her one meal a day. If you open a fridge near the two cats they desperately hope they might be fed cat "milk" and their purr changes to a "chirrup" sound, confident that you will supply their need. As for the dog, well she ignores the kitchen and the fridge until she smells my ham sandwich, then she is under my feet immediately. Their attitudes made me realise how dependent upon humans pets can become - even with the cats, only one of whom will kill mice and actually eat them, otherwise they are given whole as presents!

In the recent fires in Europe animals were found running free either left behind by accident or simply because they couldn't be taken with them. So we witnessed horses running through towns, and dogs having escaped the flames desperately trying to find water and food. How farmers have managed doesn't bear thinking about!

Psalm 145 reminds us that humans are also dependent for their food, this time they are dependent upon God. The psalmist says that “the eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.” The trouble is we humans have got in the way of God's work by systematically destroying the earth and changing its weather patterns. We make grand plans to carry out changes but somehow they never happen fast enough. So it's not good enough to say ”God isn't helping us” for each of us needs to make significant changes to the way we live. Even the tiniest change could help. Psalm 145 reminds us that ”the Lord is just in all his ways”, but a just God has given us free will and we can't simply expect Him to override our bad decisions, we must take responsibility for our own actions.

Heavenly Father,
we thank You for all the blessings You have given us,
and ask that we do not take them for granted.
Help us to be aware of everything
that increases our carbon footprint on the earth
and to make changes to our lives
that will make significant difference.
Amen.