October 14, 2005
As I sit quietly before the Lord and seek to put to paper things that He would have me say, my heart weighs heavily with the painful traumas wracking our planet. Not merely because all of Creation itself seems to be convulsing in agony. It is also because all that we see is simply the physical manifestation of what has been spiritually true since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. The news that we hear and the images that we see have been there all along in the eternal realm but only now begin to really catch our attention, trained as our senses are to engage the material realm over and beyond the spiritual.
Consider well that in the beginning, we were given both the gift of fellowship with the El Shaddai (God Almighty) and lordship under Him over all Creation. In that time, there was still a prevailing sense of serenity and peace since open hostilities did not yet exist between Creation and its Creator. When the Lord walked in the garden, humanity could hear and recognize His voice.
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet” (Psalm 8:3-6 NIV).
Thus, we were not merely formed from the dust and then put to work as ignoble slaves, but were given rank and honor as children indeed, with purpose and provision to fulfill that purpose for the glory of God and for the mutual pleasure of God and ourselves.
But when humanity turned its back upon the divine invitation offered by the Holy and Majestic One, we not only forsook the amazing gift of relationship with the Father but gave up also His power and provision in ruling over that which had been entrusted to us. When our relationship with God was broken in that moment of rebellion, the toxic carcinogens of selfishness leaked into and contaminated the entire Cosmos.
The beautiful heaven and earth that a loving and awesome God had made? It was broken.
And so the whole world continues still… broken and hurting, groaning under the weight of its massive disconnect from God. And so the human race continues still… broken and hurting, also groaning under the weight of its massive disconnect from God.
Even after all this time, with humanity still struggling today with itself, the world, and our Maker, it seems that the greatest tragedies in life are not really nestled within the face of disaster or even of painful suffering… but are instead hidden within what is too often our response to such tragedies. As devastating as these things are, they are nothing like the calamity and sorrow that they could be if no one cared and lifted a finger to help. And what does it mean for us to really care anyway? It means only this, that we allow compassion from the Father to well up within us and saturate us so thoroughly that our hands and feet move as His would move in our place, with the character and countenance of God “oozing” out of us into the lives of others.
How desperate the hour, too! Creation LONGS for Godly lordship to be reinstated over the earth! How the Earth CRAVES for righteousness to again prevail in our activities, our actions, and our attitudes! How it YEARNS for the healing hand of God to fix what has been broken! How it wants… no, how it NEEDS to see the face of Jesus in us!
“The Creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the Creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the One Who subjected it, in hope that the Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole Creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:19-22 NIV).
Truly, the world groans. The devastations we see and about which we hear, all too readily paint the picture of the deep and desperate need of all men and women for God’s grace to be unleashed in and through their lives.
The question then arises… what are we going to do about it? Are we to simply go on as if nothing is happening in the world around us? Do we rally our own defenses and batten down the hatches for ourselves, hoping against hope that natural disasters and personal calamities never happen to us? Do we only passively lament the trials and tribulations of others in need, clicking our tongues and shaking our heads sadly, yet never altering our steps to make a difference in the life of someone else?
God forbid! Let our hands and feet respond even now to the call of God to serve Him by serving others! Let our bodies respond to their true callings and bring Him glory by yielding themselves as instruments of His loving lordship over this planet that He has entrusted to us.
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV).
And as we kneel humbly, yet earnestly, seeking His great power and wisdom to sustain and guide us, we may count on His faithful and good promises of love, help, and guidance in the days ahead.
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid…. I have told you these things so that in Me you may peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 14:27; 16:33 NIV).
(Thom Mollohan and his family have ministered in southern Ohio the past ten years. He is the pastor of Pathway Community Church. For comments or questions, he may be reached by email at pastorthom@pathwaygallipolis.com).
