Greetings in Christ,
When we think of God, what comes to our mind? Do we list His attributes? Do we think of what He has done for us? Do we consider all the written stories in the Bible of how God worked in other people’s lives? Just what do we associate with Him in our mind as we think of Him?
We read in the Bible many different names of God and the qualities He possess. We read of the stories of how He has worked in people’s lives. We have many examples of names He has been given and how He has touched so many lives in so many ways, but these are from the human perspective of how God has touched their lives. Now bear with me in this thinking for just a few more lines. I am not trying to take away from God’s inspiration with mankind and the Holy Spirit’s interaction with mankind, but to bring out as humans we have a hard time processing God in His full measure with our limited understanding.
In Exodus, it is recorded Jethro has heard of how God has worked in Egypt to free the Israelites. Jethro has been taking care of his daughter (Moses’ wife) and sons and he wants to reunite them with Moses. Jethro brings Zipporah, Gershom, and Eliezer to Moses and they greet each other, but Jethro wants to hear more of how God worked in Egypt. They move into a tent and Moses begins to tell the stories how God had done many things for the Israelites. Jethro has been so impressed with the stories he declares God to be greater than all the gods and then he offered sacrifices to God honoring Him and all He had done for the Israelites.
Jethro did not have a firsthand account of what God had done, but he heard Moses tell the stories and was moved to offer sacrifices to God. Jethro heard the stories as Moses told them, as Moses remembered them, and knew Moses was telling the truth. It was how Moses told the stories of how God had worked, but they were from Moses’ perspective. Moses could only tell the stories to the best of his knowledge with his understanding.
Mark records the actions of the disciples as they are feeling down and out because they saw Jesus die on the cross. They have heard several accounts of people seeing Jesus, and He is alive. The disciples did not want to believe the words spoken to them by those who had witnessed Jesus walking among them. They were wrapped up in their own perspective of what they believed to be true.
It was not until Jesus appeared in front of them, they believed what was being said. They had to see Jesus in the front of them for them to process what they had been hearing, and to process what Jesus had been trying to tell them. They were trying to process all of what they knew in their minds for them to understand what was taking place in front of them. Then Jesus gives them one more command. They are to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. They were to go and tell others what they know from their perspective.
When we think of God, what comes to our minds? We can only understand God from our perspective of what we know. We can only tell the stories of how God has worked in our lives and our understanding of Who He is. We can only understand God to the level we are willing to undertake, but if we are willing God will fill in the rest we cannot gain on our own.
It is when we allow God to fill the gaps in our understanding, we begin to understand God more and we begin to see the depth of His love, His patience, His perseverance, and His desire to see all of His creation to know Him. God wants us to tell our stories from our perspective because they include Him as we tell them.
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth. Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?” But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but they cannot hear; they have noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk; they cannot make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them. O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.” Psalm 115:1-11
Lord may we tell the stories of how You work in our lives. Amen
Blessings,