How Big Is Your God? - May 14

A reading from the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ:

Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. Around about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. Out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. The first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. The four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. When those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fell down before him that sat on the throne, and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Rev 4: 2-11)

Note: I took the liberty of editing God's Word here for readability sake. Verses 2 through 9 all started with the word 'And', an English grammar no-no.

Two posts back I gave you the meaning of life. I said it was to know God and to make Him be known. I want to now expand on that idea. When we start our faith journey, our faith is childish, along the lines of 'Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so'. Which is all fine and well and good, but it tends to leave us a bit wanting. As we grow, God becomes much bigger, powerful and even more awesome in our sight. From a small god to a big God, our understanding of Him grows by leaps and bounds and we begin to get excited about what God is doing in our lives.

Here then lies the crux of the matter. God wants to bless you. However, in order to receive His blessings, we have to grow in faith and place our trust in Him. Many adults have a very small view of God and therefore end up missing out on God's best. You see, God wants you to live an extraordinary life. He wants you to have a life filled with purpose, meaning and happiness. But for many of us, we tend to live in a bubble, worshipping a small god and living in a small world. Now Disney may say 'It's A Small World After All', but God tells us that when we see things through His eyes, knowledge that was previously closed to us now becomes readily available. We no longer then view things according to the flesh (our senses and the corrupted wisdom of this world) but through the prism of the Divine.

This applies to entire nations as well. When we look at Afghanistan and our troops that are stationed there, we are struck very quickly at how backward the nation of Afghanistan is. Moreover, when we look at other Muslim nations we notice a distinct yet negative pattern: Extreme poverty, ignorance, lack of progress and opportunity, limited education possibilities (especially if female) and a bleak future. The Allah of Islam strikes me as a small god (and a false one at that), one that is concerned more with punishing unbelievers with hell-fire and having earthly dominion. A small god always births a small nation. I think the reason why Israel enjoys success is directly related to their relationship with the Creator, a point that secular Israelis cringe over. Same deal for America too, though it appears that the U.S is heading for the same post-Christian status as Europe.

So if you want to be an overcomer, if you want victory in this life (and the next), then you must ask yourself, 'How big is my God?'. Knowing a big God is, in the end, the difference between enjoying success and enduring failure.

Johnny Cash