Reach for the Stars!
As we see the proud, majestic eagle soar ever upwards, strong wings beating against the thermals and currents to land on a mountain crag high above the ground, as we look at the lofty pines covering that mountainside, we feel a touch of the mightiness of God. As the thunder rolls and cracks across the sky, the brilliant lightning illuminating the dark, menacing clouds and the heavy raindrops fall, we see a glimpse of the power of God. As the mighty waters of the river pour in a shuddering torrents over the rocks into canyon below, as the sea crashes and breaks onto the shores, sweeping shells and shingle in its wake, we understand a little more of the greatness of God.
As we see the beauty of a sunset tinting the sky with colours that no painter could ever recreate, the rolling plains and meadows of the countryside around us, the snow-capped mountains in the distance, we begin to appreciate the wonder of our Creator a little more. As we look at the detail of a flower, the texture of a petal, the intricacy of design, the wonder of growth and transformation from a tiny seed, we learn to worship our Father a little more. As we gaze up into the night sky and see the myriad stars, shining and blinking, and we see the delicate beauty of the newly risen crescent moon, we are overwhelmed with the glory that is God.
Yet, consider that for us, these mighty and awe-inspiring aspects of His creation are confined to this physical earth, which is a tiny drop in the oceans of the universe. We as His begotten sons and daughters are infinitesimal, a minute dot that would need a very large microscope indeed to be seen from God’s throne in the purely physical sense. God’s power is such that not only can He see us, He knows our very minds, our thoughts, our attitudes and motives. He loves us, guides us, and hears and responds to our prayers. He deals with us at our level, physical, limited and wrapped up in self. His Son was made flesh so that we might have a High Priest who was not untouched by our infirmities, our frailties and our limitations.
We are so concerned with self, with our physical existence, not able to do more than have brief flashes of God, as though through a mirror darkly, that we tend to limit God to those same boundaries. To see beyond those minute, fractional glimpses of His power and glory we have to extend our minds, our thoughts, our intellect. The day will come, when we are born into His Kingdom, when we will be able to soar in total and limitless adoration and worship, really knowing and understanding, at last, who and what God is, how limitless, how powerful, how fabulous.
Until that time comes we must strive to “think outside the box”; to try and reach Him at His level. God is not bound by our definitions and perceptions of His laws, His ways of doing things and His view of things. By locking God into that box, we create prisons for ourselves! Our huffing and puffing about all the various doctrinal themes that so exercise our minds – all valuable and necessary in themselves – is almost pointless if we try to explain them without looking beyond our own limited physical human perspective. We need that spiritual dimension that God has given to the New Testament church.
Time for God is completely different – our life is as a flower that withers and dies, fleeting and soon over. He is not bound by our concept of time and space. God’s main purpose is to have us achieve eternal life, and be in His Kingdom. His character, His mind in us, His agape developing in our lives is what really matters. Though we have all knowledge, if we have not love, we are nothing. Yes, there is a very definite way of life that the world scorns and refuses to recognise and that we must live and perhaps be even prepared to die for. We are to do as Christ did in His physical life. The laws, tenets, principles and examples of the Bible are there for our benefit, but to put getting doctrine right before our relationship with God and His son, and each other, may prove to be a costly mistake.
It almost inevitably leads to judging, separation, division and even condemnation because someone doesn’t see something the same way we do. If we could see a little more of God and His infinite power and wonder and a little less of self, we would shrink from these negativities. Our personal, individual relationship with Him should be paramount in our lives. How much we become like God in our love for our brother, our fellowman and our enemies, is what we will take with us into the Kingdom. We are to help, guide, love and ultimately judge others – we must strive for the perfection of God’s character to be able to do that. This life is our training ground. With God's help we must strive to see things from His perspective, recognising the wonder of His might and power, and letting our spirits soar as we come to know Him, His thoughts and ways.
Reach for the stars!
END
If you want to comment on our website or discuss any of our articles we can be contacted by email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.