Master Peace Theatre

Once upon a time, there was a show entitled Masterpiece Theatre, and as with anything distinctive and well-known, there were many parodies on this... such as "Monster Piece Theatre" on Sesame Street. Some monster puppet sat in a large wingback chair and smoked a pipe, speaking in a calm, low voice with a British accent. Well, this morning as I read about the works of my Master... I thought about how we don't attend a Masterpiece Theatre. We attend a Master PEACE Theatre. Belonging to our Master and living in Him and observing His creation and beautiful works, giving Him all the praise... leads us to peace.


Master of Creation

1 Praise awaits [b] you, O God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 O you who hear prayer,
to you all men will come.

3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave [c] our transgressions.

4 Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.

5 You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,

6 who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,

7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.

8 Those living far away fear your wonders;
where morning dawns and evening fades
you call forth songs of joy.

9 You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it. [d]

10 You drench its furrows
and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers
and bless its crops.

11 You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.

12 The grasslands of the desert overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.

13 The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing. (Psalm 65:1-13)

The mountains, the seas, the dawns, the crops, the meadows. It is all so very masterful. What we sometimes lack is the art of noticing... being able to notice the everyday beauty all around us. We get so trapped into our ways and our days that we have difficulty seeing the bold brilliant colors in that backyard flower anew. It is beautiful. Take a half hour walk around your neighborhood and mentally or physically take pictures of the little beauty that surrounds you every day. The patch of grass, the little flowerbed, the gorgeous sunset, the tall tall pine, the fresh air, the quiet, whatever it is. I challenge you to find at least 5 things to praise our Master for. In reality, we could really find many more. But even 5 a day of these little common everyday backyard beauties may help to bring us a peace... a peace that our Lord is right here. We can be connected to His greatness and beauty right in our own backyard.


Master of Our Hearts

But rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:13-18)

And since our Lord is all powerful, all mighty, creator of every good thing, it makes sense that we would be His servants (Paul says slaves). But I think in today's terms we would say servant... since we willingly submit our lives to Him. We think of slavery only when it is forced. And we don't turn away, because we're not forced to. Hmm... it reminds me of good old Tom Sawyer washing that fence. His friends came along and one by one he convinced them that it was the most fun thing ever. And they joined right in, willingly, in fact if my memory serves me correctly, some of them even paid for it!

Well, we're not in exactly the same situation. See, Tom didn't really want to wash that fence, and he quit as soon as the others were doing it for him. But, we do want to serve God. To be the hands and feet of the Lord here on earth is a great honor... it's like getting the best GATship in the world! Sure, it's work, but it's beautiful work that brings peace... just like everything else that the Lord God has created.

What a perfectly beautiful Master Plan!