As we get ready for the
Thanksgiving Season let us focus on our God's greatness. . . God's mighty acts are awe-inspiring and his greatness is
without limit. Even with intensive search no one can find its depths.
Psalm 145:3 "Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his
greatness no one can fathom." The word "fathom" comes from the
ancient word fadym which was the word for "thread." A
thread was used to measure the distance between two things. Our word "fathom"
then came to mean to measure something, such as the depth of water under a ship
to see if it can safely pass over. The question we ask every day, "Is God
sufficient for our needs?" Is God deep enough to supply what we are lacking?
Can we safely trust God to be mighty enough, loving enough, forgiving enough,
and near enough to help? Are God's resources adequate for our need?
We are used to limitations in
life. We all have a limited amount of time, patience, money, strength, and
insight, among other things. God has no limits. We can never exhaust the
resources of God with our needs. How can we understand the unlimited nature of
God's greatness? When I was 15 years old, I rode one bike with one of my
classmates to the beach. We rode 90 miles just see the beach. I was born in
the village and I had an inferiority complex about it because I had never been
to a beach. When I saw the Ocean for the first time I was stunned and
overwhelmed. I was sruck by the vastness and the enormity of the
ocean. God's greatness is far greater than
the depths and breadth of the ocean. All the good and perfect gifts come from
the Lord. His love never ends and His mercy never fails. In Philippians 4:19
we are told, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious
riches in Christ Jesus."
In ancient Greece it was customary
for peddlers who walked the streets with their wares to cry out, "What do you
lack?" The idea was to let people know they were in the vicinity, and also to
rouse the curiosity of the people. Coming out of their houses they would want
to know what the peddler was selling. It might be something they lacked and
needed, or simply something they desired.
What do we lack? God has exactly
what we need. Our Lord is great. He is also gracious. God's glory is manifested in his grace to people, his
generosity and goodness. God is gracious, which means he is full of generosity,
kind, good, and his gifts are given freely to his people. In spite of all the wrong that I have done, the Lord is
gracious and compassionate to me. Just as the prodigal son was welcomed home
after his rebellion, so God welcomes home his children.
During a British conference on
comparative religions, experts debated what, if any, belief was unique to
Christianity. They began eliminating possibilities. The Incarnation? Other
religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection?
Again, other religions had accounts of return from the dead. The debate went on
for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. "What's the rumpus
about?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing
Christianity's unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, "Oh,
that's easy. It's grace." After some discussion, the others had to
agree.
The notion of
God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against
every instinct of humanity. Grace tells us that everything is all right in
spite of so much in us being so wrong. God is patient and does not punish us as
we deserve. He is compassionate with those who are weak, make foolish mistakes,
and are discouraged.
In a psalm we are reminded of God's
grace and mercy toward us. "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay
us according to our iniquities." "Grace" has been defined as God giving us what
we don't deserve and his "Mercy" is not giving us what we do deserve - the
adequate punishment for our sins.
In Christ,
Brown
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