The first
thing I ponder in whatever God’s word is teaching me is like looking through a
telescope. God’s children are called to “magnify
the LORD”.[2]
This does not mean to make God appear bigger than he really is, but to bring
greater awareness to his glory that is often obscured by a dark and sinful
world.
Magnifying the
Lord is like looking at a distant Super Nova through a telescope. The
magnifying power of the telescope enables us to see the distant phenomenon
closer to what it is really like. With the naked eye, we cannot even see that
such things exist. However, when we look at them through the best and most
powerful telescopes, we are overwhelmed by the wonders we can see. So it is
with magnifying God by seeking him in his word; we do not make him bigger or
better than he really is, but come to see him more closely to his divine
reality.
The second way
the word of God affects me is like looking in a mirror. While getting to know
things about God is always first and foremost in my mind, I cannot learn about
God without learning about myself. Reading and meditating on Scripture is like
standing before a mirror and seeing ourselves as we really are. Sometimes this
look in the mirror shows us things about ourselves that God is working on to
bring into conformity to his Son. Other times he reveals to our hearts and
minds wonderful truths about who we are to him so we can let go of the myriad
of false and sarky beliefs about ourselves that prevent us from enjoying our
relationship to God as his beloved children.[3]
There are
times when we read a Scripture and know it contains a rebuke. We know that it
is not God who is being rebuked, since his will is always “good and acceptable and perfect”.[4] We cannot immediately jump to the conclusion that the only reason
God would reveal a rebuke is that it belongs to someone else. The first reason
the Holy Spirit would confront us with a rebuke is because of what Jesus
himself is doing. He says, “Those whom I love, I reprove
and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”[5]
If
we are going to let the telescope of God’s word bring God’s love for us up to
its true immensity, we should not be surprised that he would then stand us
before a mirror and confront us with things that need to change. There will
always be things that his love must compel him to remove from our lives so we
can have the greatest possible experience of his love on any given day.
Once
I have focused on things God is revealing to me about himself, as looking
through a telescope, and then things he is revealing to me about me, as looking
into a mirror, the third thing is that I am ready to take a look through the
window of God’s words. This is the aspect of Scripture where God lets us see,
as through a window, into things that are going on in people around us.
NOTE:
if we try to do this step first, it will be like using God’s word as a
microscope to magnify other people’s problems and weaknesses way out of
proportion to what they really are. It may also lead us to take something God
is saying and apply it to other people, when he was really talking about us.
This step definitely belongs after we have taken a good, honest look at God and
ourselves.
Through
the window of God’s word there will be times when there is no doubt that God
has given us something to help us understand non-believers. Other times we are
led to appreciate struggles that other believers are going through. God may
speak about things that affirm us in the way we are seeking to minister to
someone else; or he may use his word to reveal things about people’s condition
that compels us to do an about-face in the way we are relating to someone. When
Jesus took his disciples up to Samaria on one of his early journeys,[6] he opened a window for his disciples to completely change their way
of thinking about their earthly enemies. Be assured that he enjoys doing the
same kind of thing for his disciples today.
The
fourth aspect of Scripture is that it presents us with a door. The door
represents the fact that God’s word always has something to do, and the doorway
leads us into that work. Whether we think of the wise man who puts Jesus’ words
into practice,[7] or James’ exhortation that faith without works is dead,[8] spending time with God in his word must include the expectation of
hearing something that requires obedient faith.[9]
Just
before Jesus ascended back into heaven, he instructed his church to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you.”[10] Once we have become baptized disciples of Jesus Christ, the rest of
our lives ought to be characterized by learning to observe, or obey, the word
of God. Our daily time with God, as well as when we are receiving the preaching
and teaching from the word, should always lead us to see something we must
actually do in order to join God in his work in us, in his church, and in the
world around us.
Although
the metaphors I am sharing with you are only illustrations, I believe they
represent the order in which we must let the word of God speak to us. Jesus is
the vine,[11] so we learn about him first. We are the branches, so we next learn
how to mature in our abiding relationship with him. Jesus is at work to
minister to other people through our fellowship with him, so we must see how
our time with God in his word helps us to bear fruit in the lives of others.
And, all of this will require something to be put into practice in order to
bring about God’s good, acceptable and perfect will. I just find that a
telescope, a mirror, a window, and a door, help me remember how it all works
together for good!
From
my heart,
Monte
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2:7) This
phrase is used in all seven of the letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and
3.
[2]
“Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!”
(Psalm 34:3)
[3]
Ephesians 5:1-2
[4]
Romans 12:2
[5]
Revelation 3:19
[6]
John 4
[7]
“24 “Everyone
then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who
built his house on the rock. 25 And the
rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but
it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and
does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and
the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall
of it.” (Matthew 7)
[8]
“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
(James 2:17) “For as the body apart from
the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” (James 2:26)
[9]
“through whom we have received grace and
apostleship to bring about the obedience
of faith for the sake of his
name among all the nations,” (Romans 1:5) “but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been
made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to
bring about the obedience of faith—“ (Romans 16:26) “12 Therefore,
my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but
much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both to
will and to work for his good pleasure.”
(Philippians 2)
[10]
Matthew 28:19-20
[11]
John 15
No comments:
Post a Comment