A Big Big God

The apostle Paul calls us God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works. I like that. When Paul calls us God's workmanship, in some ways we are like God's love song, His masterpiece.

Think about it, there are over 100 million cells that make up one eyeball, and in that eye there are rods and cones. There is an iris. There is a cornea. There is a retina. There is a lens and a pupil. It's this fascinating organ, and we get two of them. Most of us do, right? It enables us to respond and to react to light so we can see color and shapes. We can see mountain peaks and sunsets and rainbows and the faces of people we love and art. Aren't you glad we have the ability to see these things with our eyes, the eyes God has created and given to each one of us? He is our Maker.

 In our bodies, we have over 60,000 miles of veins and arteries that pump blood and oxygen to give us life and breath. Sixty thousand miles of veins and arteries would be like going from North Carolina to San Francisco back and forth 21 times, and every inch of those veins and arteries God put there. He created. He designed us.

There are 200 bones in our bodies that are attached to over 600 muscles, so if you enjoy running or playing the piano or dancing or hiking or playing basketball, every time you can do one of these things or any of these things you should thank God who is our Maker, who created us and formed us and thought of us.

In the gospel of Mark, chapter 4, there is a short story about Jesus. I think this is an important story because it brings together the reason why we should worship God. We know that Jesus is the Word made flesh and that all of the Law and the Prophets and the Wisdom of the Scriptures in the Old Testament are all embodied in the person of Jesus. He lived it out.

In Mark, chapter 4, there is a story of Jesus on a journey with his disciples. They're crossing over the Sea of Galilee in the middle of the night going from one place to another. While they're in this boat on this body of water, a furious storm comes up, and the disciples are afraid. They are terrified. In their panic, they search for Jesus. They look for help, and when they find him, Jesus is sound asleep.

When they wake Jesus, they say to him, "Jesus! Lord! Do you not care if we die, if we perish?" We read over this so quickly, but think about that question for a moment, because it is so deep and so profound. "God, do you care? Do you care about me? Do you know what I'm going through? Do you understand what I'm facing today? Do you see the storm?"

I don't know about you, but I know I've asked that question before. "God, where are you right now? Where are you when I need you most? Do you not care about me?" Mark tells us Jesus wakes up from his nap, and he looks at the disciples, and he says, "Why are you afraid? Where is your faith?" Then, Jesus speaks to the ocean and he speaks to the wind and the waves, and it is still.

The disciples watched Jesus, and they say, "Who is this man who commands the wind and the waves? Who is this man who has this incredible power and can speak to creation and control it with the sound of his voice? Yet, who is this man who loves his friends and comforts them and protects them?" He is the Son of God, the great God, the Creator of the universe, and our Maker.

Here’s the good news, God is not too big or too far away or too preoccupied with how big the universe is to not realize who each one of us is and what we face and what we go through.
 
The Word became flesh, so let’s get some skin in the game.
Timmy B