Lodenia Coleman: Somebody bigger than you and I
Published 1:30 pm Sunday, September 20, 2015
“Who made the mountains? Who made the trees? Who made the rivers flowing to the sea? And who hung the moon in the starry sky? Somebody bigger than you and I. Who makes the flowers bloom in the spring? Who writes the songs for the birds to sing?
“And who sends the rain when the earth gets dry? Somebody bigger than you and I.”
The author of the lyrics to this song may be debatable. Just as in a lot of songs and hymns, the words have been changed and rearranged down through the years. But one thing is for certain, the meaning has not changed. No mere human being has the power to make mountains, trees, rivers or even streams of water. Man has no power to make the sun shine or the moon to glow in the dark of night. It had to be somebody bigger, somebody with power and the authority to speak these things into existence.
The words of this song remind me of the expressions of my grandmother, the late Mrs. Willie C. Lewis, whenever she was overwhelmed with the miracle-working power of God, sometimes in what we would think of as the simple things of life.
Being a country girl, Ma Willie didn’t get to travel very far from home. But just prior to her death at 89 years of age in 1988, we would ride out in the country or visit family in some major city. The construction sites, the high-rise towers, the interstate traffic, the billboards and especially the variety of colors of the leaves on the trees in the fall all seemed to amaze her. In awe, she referred to almost everything as a miracle. Ma Willie would say “man can do great things, but if God decided not to give them the wisdom and power, they couldn’t do a thing!”
In this 21st century age of technology, God continues to bestow upon humanity the intelligence and the ability to do anything, to accomplish any task, and to reach any destination. But a miracle is considered as an “effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God” that brings about a great change.
But miracles aside, couldn’t we bring about some great changes ourselves? We have the power to make a difference in our own little corners of the world. Couldn’t we begin with the simple stuff? How about starting with the six things the Lord hates from Proverbs 6:16-19: “These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”
But the realization is that the “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Yet there is much the Christian community can do. “For ye have the poor always with you … ” are the words of Jesus in Matthew 26:11. Therefore I applaud those who, through the miracle-working power of an Almighty God, are struggling to support and find cures for sickness and suffering, hunger and homelessness, peace and not war.
But the only One who can make a complete turnaround from evil to good and other ills in this world, the only One who can change the heart of man is the One whom Ma Willie spoke about so many years ago, somebody bigger than you and I. That somebody is Jesus. Let’s do our part, then trust Him to do the rest. Be blessed in your worship services.
Lodenia Coleman is pastor, Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church, Americus.