The LORD’s Math (04/25/2025)
- Dr. Kate Wiskus
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
I make plans. I am a pro at making plans and lists with expected outcomes. I do it all the time. But more times than not, my life doesn’t add up the way I projected. Sometimes, the abundance overwhelms me and at other times I struggle to make sense of the nothingness. Often, I realize that the LORD’s math trumps mine, His plans for me exceed my own hopes and dreams.
Today’s gospel reading is drawn from John and recounts Jesus’ third encounter with His disciples on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias. The disciples had been fishing all night. They had caught nothing – NADA! But when this unknown person on the shore tells them to cast their nets one more time “to the right” – they catch a plethora of fish – 153 to be exact. The disciples had expectations for their fishing excursion. It didn’t include nothing at first and then more than a village could consume in the end. See what I mean? The LORD’s math is often different than ours. The LORD has a way of surprising us.
And I think of another gospel story, that of the woman caught in adultery (John 8). A threatening group of individuals brought a woman to Jesus, accusing her of adultery. And then, Jesus’ words, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” led to the dissipation of that threat, until it was only the woman and Christ. The LORD has a way of surprising us.
So many times in my life, there has arisen a need that I felt totally unequipped to meet. And then, others show up, others bring food or supplies, and suddenly the need is addressed. I’ve learned to rely on the LORD’s mysterious math rather than my math that relies only on what I can provide or what I can take away. I’ve learned that the LORD’s math is superior.
Life is often a mystery. Things don’t add up the way we humans think they should. The LORD challenges us to live that life of faith, of hope and of love. If we will, if we will seek the LORD, if we will believe in the LORD and in the LORD’s mysterious way of providing often through others, if we will encounter the moment with love and seek to set things “right”, we find that the LORD’s math is truly awesome.
Until tomorrow, let us all love well.