Made in His Image

Welcome to Grace for All, the daily devotional podcast produced by the members of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. Thank you for joining us. Our theme this month is Made in His Image. Many of the episodes will explore the idea that we are fashioned and formed by a loving God to reflect His grace and love to the world.

Psalm 8:4-5, CEB 

What are human beings that you think about them; what are human beings that you pay attention to them? You’ve made them only slightly less than divine and crowned them with glory and grandeur.

And like the Psalmist, I wonder aloud about the place of humans in God’s creation. Depending on the translation this verse reads:

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”

Or “What are human beings, that you think about them?” 

Or “Why do you bother with us?” 

Not only does God bother with us, but He is also always working in our lives if we listen. Recently I was visiting with a friend, a dear friend who is confined to a wheelchair. She was excited that her grandson is coming to visit her. But she was also very anxious. She said, “I don’t know if people here will accept him. He is coming with his partner.“

I realized she meant her grandson is gay. I asked her to tell me more about him. She said, “Oh he has a wonderful musical voice. He sings with the Gay Chorus in Los Angeles.” That sparked a memory for me. Another friend and neighbor has a gay son in Los Angeles who sings in the Gay Chorus. I have watched his performances on Zoom and marveled at the artistry of this chorus. I suggested to her that she visit with our other friend and share her concerns. 

The next day I received this text from my other friend: “Thank you for encouraging our friend to reach out to me. She was showing me a message about the Gay Men’s Chorus Los Angeles concert that her grandson was taking part in, when my son walked in front of the camera! He sings in the back row and her grandson in the front row. What a delightful discovery!“

I realized that these two friends of mine had become friends on a much more emotional level. All this happened because of a casual conversation. 

Or did it? When I heard about their connection, it made me get down on my knees and thank God. God thinks of us and bothers with us every day of our lives. And when we are awake enough to realize it, we are crowned with glory and grandeur. 

Let us pray

Dear God, keep bothering with us and making us open to those around us and their hopes, fears, and needs. Help us to connect with and give comfort to those who are isolated. Thank you for connecting us to one another! Amen

This devotion was written by Laura Derr and ready by Judy Wilson.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.