The Word

In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He existed in the beginning with God.

God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John 1:1-5

It is no coincidence that John calls Jesus the WORD. The message, the idea, the thought. Behind everything is the Word of creation. And then the Word came and spoke. In all my life, could anything be more important than the words Of the Word? My life is a reflection of how important they are to me. Pretending they are important doesn't make them so. Forcing myself to focus on them doesn't make them important to me. Reading and making them my own and LOVING them because I love the Word who spoke them is my hope and my joy.

What I Believe

"What I believe about God is the most important thing about me."

A. W. Tozer This sentiment requires "Whole Bible" study and not "Selected Text" study. If all I read is I John (one of my favorites) my God paradigm will be incomplete. The truest, most accurate appreciation of who God is will come from learning about the God of Sodom and of Abram and of Paul and Elijah. Forming God into my own image is the most pernicious temptation of our self-centered culture.

Cheap Cheap Sparrows

I heard a speaker say the other day that no problem in your life is too small for God to care about, and there is scriptural support for that truth.

Luke 12:6Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

The converse, as usual popped into my mind: Not one of my problems is too great for that same God.

This, too comes with scriptural support: Matt 28:18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

The first statement could engender an appeal to ego. God keeps track of my hairs! The hairs that are on my head today and in the vacuum cleaner beater bar tomorrow. Wow, I am important.

But in reality, it is an appeal to humility -- you are worth more than many sparrows. Really. That much???? MANY 2-for-a-penny sparrows? The Creator is aware of hairs and sparrows and my thoughts and motives.

The God of the universe who choreographs the dance of the galaxies and the interplay of particles withing the candle’s flame sheds some attention for me.

Could I be happy in a universe whose center was not me?

I have given up on greatness. Failed at goodness. All that remains for me is to know my place within God’s universe - to submit to being God’s man.

To know God and my place within His will is a greater privilege than I deserve. And more than I can hope to accomplish in a lifetime.