Thought for Today
Psalm 8:3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; 4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? 5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
Luke 9:18 Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" 19 They answered, "John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen." 20 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "The Messiah of God."
Hebrews 2:9 but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Yesterday afternoon, Greta and I got into a discussion about one of our favorite theological questions. My thoughts this morning are not so much about the question itself, for which there is no real, definitive answer, but about what lies at the heart of the question, our relationship with and understanding of God. I believe that much of human existence, human history and human development is inextricably connected to trying to answer the psalmist’s question, “what are human beings,” and “why has God made us crowned with glory and honor?” Who is God? Why has God done what God has done?
Some of my memories of the earliest home I remember living in involve the heating system. Even along the Texas Gulf Coast, winter heating is important. That home I remember had a space heater in each room. It consisted of a wall mounted enclosure containing fire bricks. The heat came from burning natural gas. My mother would turn off the gas each night after we went to bed. Each morning, Mom arose before everyone else and relit the gas burners. When the rest of the family finally arose, each room was relatively warm. As a young boy, I never questioned whether or not the house would be warm, it was just one of the things I took for granted. As I have aged, I have come to realize that there are a plethora of things I have always taken for granted. I’m sure I’m not alone in my proclivity to take lots of things for granted.
Much of human history has involved people trying to understand some of what we take for granted. Few of us ever worry about whether someone will rise before us and turn on the sunshine, turn on the air, etc. Gravity is always working when I go to bed; and, it is on when I awaken. In fact, as I have aged, gravity is on every time I get up during the night. I never have to worry about gravity being operational.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, . . . With astounding regularity, the sun always rises and sets, the moon cycles through its normal routine, earth progresses around the sun, etc. Life is replete with examples of regularity, dependability and even predictability. All of it a part of God’s plan, created as part of the creation of Creation.
There are times when I am amazed that every time I add 2 + 2, I get the same answer. Were Creation not regular, dependable and predictable, there would be no sciences, at least in the sense we understand science. I do not remember very much from all the chemistry classes I took; but, I do know that every time you combine an acid and a base, the result is a salt and water. I remember enough from physics and my engineering classes to know that water always weighs 62.4 lbs./ft3, the acceleration due to gravity is 32.2 ft/sec/sec. And again, 2+2=4, every time!
Try to imagine a universe where these things did not hold true. I cannot. Yet our Creator God has provided us with a Creation where they do. Why? Who are we that God would not only do that, but would also send God’s Son to show us the error of our ways? The Gospel of John answers the questions with “3:16 For God so loved the world . . .”
There are some questions that are just beyond our ability to understand. Why does God love us? God loves us because God loves us. That is just the nature of Creation. That’s good enough for me.
Stay safe, relish God’s love, trust God,
Pastor Ray