So many men think they are something when they are actually nothing. The Lord spoke to Job about this. “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?”
Next time you think you’re something consider this:
When is the last time you took a stroll in deep space?
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I have some time this morning to sit and relax a bit. What, I wonder, should I do with this time? I could watch TV. Perhaps there’s a channel of learning. Yea! History channel…… That would be interesting. Then I reflect on who makes the History Channel. Well, perhaps I could find something better to do with my time.
This outcome of reflection has brought something to the surface in me. I spent years, more like decades, learning about the world around me. And I find something very curious, I’m not interested anymore in the things of this world. A special lack of interest flares up at learning from those who do not openly announce the Son of God in their work. I’m sick of allowing myself to become interested as a program unveils it’s information, only to find them preaching that I came from a monkey.
Perhaps I could watch that show, “How it’s made”. But that becomes rather common place in a very short while. Not that I don’t enjoy looking and learning about innovation. Man’s ability to turn rock into some shiny and useful tool has always captivated me. But what part of me is captivated. That’s the question. And I know the answer. I could watch “Myth Busters”. But everything of man is, in the end, a myth. So what can they tell me that I don’t already know.
I think I’d rather sit in silence a while and consider the Lord and His ways with man and myself. At least in this I accomplish something eternal. Any other contemplation only leads to corruption of the eternal.
I was thinking of how the Tower of Babel went unfinished. God looked down on the work of man and decided that He would rather they remain as they were until Jesus had appeared among us. And I consider that since the Lord appeared in flesh, man has became rather adept at turning his world into a more sensual place. Now that thought would be incomplete if I didn’t allow myself to consider the current explosion of sensuality. By sensuality I mean the fulfilment of every possible lust man owns; from building houses which have become far more than a shelter from the elements to every possible convience.
It was not God’s desire that man should fend for himself like this. If he had obeyed the Lord from the beginning, I’m convinced that the elements of this world would have become far more man friendly. God desires to care for His creation. But it is man’s continual rebellious ways that have resulted in a quite complex war with the world around him.
In the end of this thought comes something worth thinking about. If it was God’s desire to provide for man from the beginning, why would His desire be any different now? Even though I am part of this carnival of the works of man’s hands, I can still make a choice to trust the Lord to provide for me. And why does He provide like this for a people who will certainly die in a couple years? What benefit is there in this providing?
FAITH!
By His Grace.
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I was thinking of discipleship. And noticing how difficult it is to train even myself in the way of Christ. I firmly believe that a man would easier train a Badger to sit gently on his shoulder than to train a man to become godly. Thus we learn how corrupt the heart of man really is.
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“If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.”
Ok. I hear the meaning of this passage loud and clear. Some passages in the Bible are not easily divided in their meaning. But this is certainly not the case here. Or is it?
Men are corrupt by their very nature. We can’t know all things, so we often get involved with things we don’t understand. On top of that, there are millions of men who plot to gain the upper hand every moment of every day. Then we have those who decide to refrain from fighting all together. Somehow we are expected to make sense of these things and learn to live at peace with everyone? Not really.
There are moments of clarity we all receive. There are situations which demand that we take a stand against the desires of another. I’m not talking about judging others here. But we all have faced a situation or thousand, in which, we were expected to simply cow tow and shut up, take it on the chin….. and other weird responses to evil.
I could go into detail about our responses to such things. I could use a million examples to help any reader come to an understanding about how to live at peace with others. But who would read it? And even if they would read forty billion words typed, who could live it? Any situation encountered would surely have a subtle difference from any example I could come up with. So I will use common sense here and simply say that, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1: 5)
Who can navigate the morass of human expectations? And the more people involved, the worse it gets (if that is possible). And what shall we say if the world begins to take on “good deeds” without Christ Jesus at the helm? How do we hope to please all men? We simply can’t. That is why we are given the perfect wisdom of God; so that we can maneuver through this world without getting caught in the stupidity of the world’s perplexing puzzles.
If you want to please everyone, you’re welcome to try. But you’ll quickly become nothing more than a stick in the path. And someone will surely come along and kick you out of the way. We are compelled to stand strong for certain things. The answer to all this ends up where it starts: God.
By His Grace.
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In the wee hours of the passing night
The Lord awakes me to seek His light.
What is sleep that I should desire
My strength supported, my faith inspired.
The silence of the morning is sweet encounter.
Darkness dispelled by His Light, the guilt drowner.
Love poured out while no one sees.
Able to serve by His tender release.
Here comes the sun.
Yet the Son has already risen.
I have heard people use the story of the blind men and the elephant as a way to describe our differing views of the nature of God. I have known that there is something wrong with that approach. And just this morning I have come to an understanding of why that story fails.
Man is the reason that story falls short. In describing the elephant, the blind men are speaking of that which they are able to sense. But God is not like man. There is nothing about Him that we can speak with
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certainty, except to say that He Is. All true faith comes from Him alone. And we are not to speak of Him in terms of man. Our problem is that all our understandings come from the world experience. And in this we are severely limited.
So, yes, we speak of Him as we are given to know. But in this “knowing” we are to recognize our limitations. Let us be very careful not to bring God down to our level. Not one of us knows the Holiness that is God, yet. If we speak of Him, let us speak the words of God. Let us speak those words which are given to us by His Holy Spirit. Who knows the mind of God but the Spirit of God? And who can speak the Holy words of the Spirit but those who have the Spirit?
There is so much more to say regarding this. But it is God who speaks the rest of this truth to all men. So I will leave the “rest” to the Lord.
By His Grace.
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