March 16, 2007
Not a day goes by that we should fail to look about us in bright-eyed wonder at the glorious work of our Creator. Whenever the red-gold light of dawn breaks the bonds of night’s embrace, we should celebrate anew the Father’s provision of a brand new day. Whenever we see the twinkling lights of heaven peering down at us from a velvet sky or when the aura of the waxing moon casts its silver countenance upon the world, we should give thanks to God. Whether we stop in quiet delight when spring blossoms color the world or we find ourselves stunned by the shocking repercussions of a blast of thunderous lightning, awe should fill our hearts and praise of God fill our mouths.
How much more then should we tremble and gasp at the incredible grace of God Who reached down to humanity through the outspread hands of His Son, Jesus? And what a famished life is his who does not pause and engage the spiritual spheres of his life, perhaps not recognizing that the short time we spend here on earth is not intended to be anything but a realm of incubation as Creator God seeks to raise up a people for Himself who “will love Him in Spirit and in Truth” (John 4:23-24).
A lot of folks describe themselves as being “spiritual”, yet fail to see that true spirituality is incomprehensibly more than the mere appreciation of those things that are unseen. It is rather the product of our grappling with the fact of God’s activity in the world around us and particularly His pursuit of our own hearts. He is a God Who, having spoken the world into existence from a void of empty darkness, has made for Himself of paramount concern our welfare, searching the world over for hearts of men and women and children that will turn to Him, opening up to the sunlight of His love as spring flowers do when a warm morning sun shines upon them. Through Jesus Christ we are given the doorway to know God personally and be given a destiny other than the one we’d surely find if we remained in our sin.
If you want to know God, then you must want to know Jesus. And if you do know Jesus, then you must want to make Him known. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…. To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God…. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and (children of God) have been given fullness in Christ, Who is the head over every power and authority” (John 1:14, 12-13; Colossians 2:9-10 NIV).
It’s a strange thing that we can be awestruck by natural wonders and yet fail to be knocked to our knees in fervent worship of the One Who commands them. But once we are caught up in the perpetual novelty of Jesus, His grace and glory overwhelm us. His wisdom and power amaze us. And His holiness and mercy humble us.
Only a “god” who is truly boundless in every way deserves the lifelong passion and devotion that our God deserves. And even as we begin to appreciate the majesty of this measureless God, as feeble as such appreciation is, we have finally begun to live out in truth the meaning of life.
“Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God. For, ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:21-25 NIV)
So, while the world screams by you, racing madly on its way to nowhere, stop and place your hand in the hand of Him Who bore savage nails for you. While society paralyzes itself in pointless squabbling over pointless things, take upon yourself a mantle of forgiveness and renewal from the One Who took upon Himself cruel lashings for you. And while the shrouds of hopelessness and despair entwine the people of today, rise up in the new life prepared for you by the One Who laid Himself in the arms of death so that, through His resurrection, you might have the surety that this God Who saves from the penalty of sin, saves from the power of death.
(Thom Mollohan and his family have ministered in southern Ohio the past eleven years. He is the pastor of Pathway Community Church, which meets on Sunday mornings at the Ariel Theatre. He may be reached for comments or questions by email at pastorthom@pathwaygallipolis.com).
