Is your vision of God big enough? Maybe it is better put as JB Phillips did in
his little book, Your God is too Small.
We have an idea of God that needs sometimes to be stretched because we lose
sight of Genesis 1. Isaiah says that
Genesis 1 is really just a beginning point.
Not only did Yahweh create all that is from nothing, there was a mind,
an intelligence and a wisdom in all His works, not only at creation but every
moment since that time. The same wisdom
and intellect that created also upholds and directs the course of the
world. We can rest assured not only of
eternity, but also of today. The world
may look chaotic and moving inexorably towards the end of all things but, if
there were no natural disasters or unforeseen circumstances, no “coincidences”
that change the course of history, we would move in that direction a good deal
more rapidly wouldn’t we? While there
may be terrible things in the world, we can also find a good many things that
are serendipitous enough to smile and thank Him for still being engaged as
sovereign. Isaiah points us towards that
idea lest we find ourselves believing we are alone and He is really only the
God of the Deists, the one who began it all and then disengaged from us. When all looks lost to us, remember it isn’t
lost to the One who continues to hold all things in His hands.
The fact of the incarnation and that Jesus didn’t come to
judge the world is an amazing reality. I
think too many of us take it for granted.
We focus on the work of Jesus and forget to consider how incredible it
is that the Word which existed in beginning became flesh and dwelt among us,
that God humbled Himself to subject Himself to His creation. We need both the big God and the Jesus of the
cross if we are to properly stand in awe of Him. John was preparing a people for an encounter
with a holy God coming in judgment. It
is easy to understand John’s reluctance to baptize the one he believed to be
the Messiah. It made no sense that
Messiah would submit to baptism at all, baptism was for sin, to cleanse from
sin and Messiah wasn’t sinful. Did Jesus
understand His own mission? John had to
wonder but was willing to do whatever Jesus said because he believed Him to be
Messiah.
As I mentioned in my sermon a couple of weeks ago, Paul
acted like predestination was a wonderful thing, not something to argue
about. One of the most incredible
sentences in the Bible is found here, “Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” We were chosen in Jesus before the foundation
of the world. That means that God knew
before He ever created the world that it would fall into sin and death and need
Him to redeem it in Jesus’ death on the cross.
It also means that in spite of what He knew would happen, both to His
creation and to His Son, He created anyway.
Which of us would have done the same?
His greatness and goodness are both revealed in that He created and
redeemed a rebellious creation. Today is
a good day to rest in the omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of a loving
God and to praise Him.
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