“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them…” Psalm 8:3-4 (NIV).
When I ponder the greatness of God – his power, his eternal nature, his infinite wisdom, etc. – I feel so infinitesimal. In searching for an analogy to describe the difference between God and me, the best I have ever come up with is the sun and a lit match. This morning when this analogy came to mind, I thought, “The difference in the light and heat of an insignificant match flame and the brilliant sun does not accurately reflect the great chasm between God and me.” Suddenly I remembered something Jesus said that confirmed this. “I am the vine. You are the branches…apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (N(V). Unless connected to God, a human being can do absolutely nothing of true worth. That is the shocking, stark reality of the matter. Without him, I don’t even rate being a match flame. As I thought about this, I reasoned, “But if connected to God, I surely emit some light.” All at once, a fragment of a verse that I had read, at one time or another, that was tucked away in my memory bank, shoved itself to the forefront of my thoughts. It was its moment to shine…literally! (*) When I looked up the verse to see what it said in its entirety, I discovered that God included the thought behind it, in both the Old and New Testaments.
“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever.” Daniel 12:3 (NIV).
“…it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” Philippians 2:13-15 (NIV).
I was blown away! Satan wants us to believe that we are so small and insignificant that we are capable of nothing of value, but what does God want us to believe? What does the Word say? It reveals to us that apart from him we can do nothing (we are even less than we sometimes give ourselves credit for, i.e. a match flame), BUT, as his children, we have the potential to shine like stars! This becomes even more significant when we read the words of Revelation 22:16 (NASB), “I, Jesus have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” Jesus holds the place of highest honor. He is singled out as the bright morning star. It is incomprehensible that God also promotes us to stardom! “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6 (NIV). “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:17 (NIV).
What does this mean for us? Luke 12:48 (NIV) says, “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Jesus makes our responsibility clear. “You are the light of the world … Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14 & 16 (NASB). When we shine, we reveal to the world the beauty of our wonderful Father … what a privilege
*Jesus told his followers that the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance all that he had said to them (John 14:26). I believe the Holy Spirit, still, today, brings to our minds the words that God has said in the Bible. For us to experience this, we have to have read or heard them. The more we are in the Word, the larger the bank the Holy Spirit has to draw from to more specifically fit each situation we encounter.
When I ponder the greatness of God – his power, his eternal nature, his infinite wisdom, etc. – I feel so infinitesimal. In searching for an analogy to describe the difference between God and me, the best I have ever come up with is the sun and a lit match. This morning when this analogy came to mind, I thought, “The difference in the light and heat of an insignificant match flame and the brilliant sun does not accurately reflect the great chasm between God and me.” Suddenly I remembered something Jesus said that confirmed this. “I am the vine. You are the branches…apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (N(V). Unless connected to God, a human being can do absolutely nothing of true worth. That is the shocking, stark reality of the matter. Without him, I don’t even rate being a match flame. As I thought about this, I reasoned, “But if connected to God, I surely emit some light.” All at once, a fragment of a verse that I had read, at one time or another, that was tucked away in my memory bank, shoved itself to the forefront of my thoughts. It was its moment to shine…literally! (*) When I looked up the verse to see what it said in its entirety, I discovered that God included the thought behind it, in both the Old and New Testaments.
“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever.” Daniel 12:3 (NIV).
“…it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” Philippians 2:13-15 (NIV).
I was blown away! Satan wants us to believe that we are so small and insignificant that we are capable of nothing of value, but what does God want us to believe? What does the Word say? It reveals to us that apart from him we can do nothing (we are even less than we sometimes give ourselves credit for, i.e. a match flame), BUT, as his children, we have the potential to shine like stars! This becomes even more significant when we read the words of Revelation 22:16 (NASB), “I, Jesus have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” Jesus holds the place of highest honor. He is singled out as the bright morning star. It is incomprehensible that God also promotes us to stardom! “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6 (NIV). “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:17 (NIV).
What does this mean for us? Luke 12:48 (NIV) says, “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Jesus makes our responsibility clear. “You are the light of the world … Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14 & 16 (NASB). When we shine, we reveal to the world the beauty of our wonderful Father … what a privilege
*Jesus told his followers that the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance all that he had said to them (John 14:26). I believe the Holy Spirit, still, today, brings to our minds the words that God has said in the Bible. For us to experience this, we have to have read or heard them. The more we are in the Word, the larger the bank the Holy Spirit has to draw from to more specifically fit each situation we encounter.
