Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have an instant full understanding of everything in all of God's creation, especially concerning our relationship with him? We miss out on a lot simply because we do not fully understand this relationship. We put ourselves through a lot because of this lack of understanding. We face a lot simply because we do not know that a better way exists. However, there is a joy in the discovery.
It is kind of a pleasant thing when we suddenly burst into a new revelation of who we are in God and who we are to him. It's like being lost in a thick forest, cold and hungry then suddenly stumbling out into a beautiful clearing full of the most delicious wild berries and the warming sun. It is the greatest moment in the world and you want others to experience it with you. I think most of us go to church with a desire for such a moment.
Life can make us feel pretty small and insignificant, lost in a great forest, feeling overwhelmed most of the time. There may even be days when we wonder if it is worth pressing on. Why not just stop here and give up? Even when we consider God's greatness, his power, his strength, his glory and holiness it only makes us feel smaller and less significant. Who are we compared to the glorious creation of God? What do we have to offer him? The psalmist put it this way:
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? (Psalm 8:3-4)
What am I? What am I compared to a glorious sunrise or the thunder of a majestic waterfall or the delicate beauty of a wild flower? What possible glory could I bring to the Creator of all these incredible things? Just look at how insignificant the night sky makes us feel as we stand and stare at it in amazement. What am I compared to that? But such questions come from an inexcusable ignorance of our relationship with God.
God does not see us as insignificant; far from it. He created us with purpose and from a place of love:
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:
all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:5-8)
Does that really sound insignificant to you? It is how God sees us. It is how he interacts with us. He made us rulers over the works of his hands. He put creation under our feet. He loved us enough to give us a way out of the rebellion that ensnared us. He paid the price for what we could not afford or do for ourselves. He looks at us, knows our heart and still chooses to love us. That doesn't sound insignificant to me; that sounds like we are the objects of his affection.
When we are willing to realize this relationship and throw off everything that hinders us from it, we will begin to live with boldness and confidence. We will begin to understand why he gave us so many promises and why he is faithful to them. He loves us. He really truly loves us and has done so since the creation of the first man. Even when we chose to become his enemies and lost ourselves in our rebellious nature, he loved us and put in place a plan to rescue and reclaim us. I think the thing we must do today is react in the same manner as the psalmist:
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:9)
Let this be our reason for going to church this morning: To praise the One who loves us and who created us to be significant to him.
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