Astronomers estimate there are more than 100 billion galaxies. And each galaxy has more than 100 billion stars! And each of those hundreds of billions of stars was personally hung in space by the Creator Who has not only numbered them all but knows each of them by name! The very first words of Genesis tell us, “In the beginning, God created the heavens. . . .” I can’t conceive of any activity much bigger than that!
What big things are you facing? A big decision about a career change or a child’s schooling or a marriage proposal? A big commitment like buying a new house or beginning a new job or becoming a new parent? A big responsibility such as caring for elderly parents or supervising an office staff or being the sole provider for your family?
God is active in big ways!
If we think we can avoid God by pleading indifference toward Him or ignorance of Him, we’re mistaken; both choices are indirect rejection. John makes this point when he states, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him” (John 1:10, NIV). It would be easier to imagine Ford Motor Company not recognizing Henry Ford, or Microsoft not recognizing Bill Gates, or the United States of America not recognizing George Washington than to imagine man not recognizing his Creator!
Just about everybody you and I know fails to recognize Jesus for Who He is. The majority of the world doesn’t recognize Him for Who He is. The world talks of and teaches evolution as the beginning of all things. The world talks of and teaches about Jesus Christ as a good man or a well-meaning prophet or a revolutionary zealot. But the world does not recognize Jesus Christ for Who He really is: God as Man!
Separation from the world is logical, since we operate on a totally different level in every area of our lives. But separation is also a command we are to obey for our own benefit, lest we be pressed into the world’s mold. However, separation from the world requires a certain amount of courage, because the world often views our separation as an indictment of itself and resents us for it.
Jesus underscored our separation from the world when He said, “You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
Hates you? Do you doubt this? Then I suggest you take a strong public stand for the uniqueness of Who Jesus is, for the truth of the Bible from cover to cover, for the necessity of living a life of integrity and purity and humility in order to please God. Then count the seconds before someone labels you an extreme fanatical element of the religious right! But while the world may mock you, heaven applauds you!
Who do you say you can’t witness to because he or she is an intellectual, or highly educated, and you are not? Or maybe the person has a seminary degree and you have just started going to church. Remember, it was Joseph, a Hebrew teenager and slave, not the wise men of Egypt, who interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams. It was another Hebrew slave, Daniel, not the wise men of Babylon, who deciphered the mysterious writing on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace. It was the unlettered fishermen, not the Scribes and the Pharisees, who were taken into the confidence of Christ and used of God to build His church.
Do you feel inadequate intellectually, educationally, socially, theologically? Good! God can use you! He states clearly that He “chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Cor. 1:27-28, NIV). God is attracted to your weakness!
If Adam knew God as a beloved Father,
if Eve knew Him as the original Homemaker,
if Noah knew Him as the Refuge from the storm,
if Abraham knew Him as a Friend,
if Moses knew Him as the Redeemer,
if Rahab knew Him as the gracious Savior,
if David knew Him as his Shepherd,
if Elijah knew Him as the Almighty,
if Daniel knew Him as the Lion Tamer,
if Mary Magdalene knew Him as the Bondage Breaker,
if Martha knew Him as the Promise Keeper,
if Lazarus knew Him as the Resurrection and the Life,
if Bartimaeus knew Him as the Light of the World,
if John knew Him as the glorious King upon the throne,
surely you and I can know Him too!
