hm, after the richness of 23 which i could have explored a lot more and in greater depth, i found 24 a bit more of a dig. nice poetic vibe and all, but not a lot jumping out at me and so maybe this is one where a bunch of you can chime in with your suggestions…

i guess the one thing that stood out is the beginning which reads – ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.’ [vs. 1-2]

this kinda reminds me of something i have been saying, or at least writing, a lot lately, especially in the welcome letters to people who come and visit the simple way – be still and know that He is God – take a moment to remember that this story is all about Him. we do like to make it all about us, but it’s not. and the same goes for the planet. kind of like the idea of colonisation – the white man arrives [it’s always ‘the blasted white man’] and moves into land that clearly has other people living on it and proudly declares that ‘we have discovered this land’. now a huge focus all around the world in recentish times [lets go with decades] has been that, “no, in fact this is not your land, we the native Americans/Africans/Australasians were here before you and what right have you to come and take our land and claim it as your own.” important point and really needs to be examined and worked out and repentance/restoration/reconciliation needs to happen for sure… however, that is not the complete truth as ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it…’ And so even before the native peoples were on that particular piece of land, there is Someone who is making a previous ownership claim.

and so this becomes a stewardship question. whoever you are, this story is not about you, it is the story of God and you have been invited to become an active part of that story. wherever you are is not land that actually belongs to you but to God and He has invited you to look after it well, in such a way that it exists in good shape for generations to come.

we have a lot of work to do. and i guess 24 did have something in it…