Musings: Notes From My Daybook

It is a perfect spring day in Atlanta--perfect except for a pollen count that is higher than the space shuttle--and I just finished a breakfast meeting. Scripture study and prayer is a good way to begin the day and though I have more study to do cause Sunday's coming, my real instinct is head outdoors!

With the world bathed in brilliant sunlight, with azaleas in bloom and color in the trees, it's hard to read Ephesians 6.10-20 and think about the dark and terrible forces at work. I would rather think about all that is right in the world on a day like today. And yet this text soberly calls for attention. Even in the midst of all that is good and bright and shining lies that would claim us. Like weeds in the flower beds or the pollen in the air, all is not as it seems.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that we ignore or minimize the good and the beautiful. All that is good and beautiful is God's handiwork and we are designed to take deep pleasure from it. But my reading this morning reminds me that I can't be naive.

"Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power."