Sunday, August 14, 2005
Word For The Week
I have been offline for the last couple weeks dealing with some "Big Picture" issues. Sometimes you have to step back and look at the Big Picture, and when I look at the Big Picture the depravity of humanity is abundantly clear. Human Beings are considered to be nothing more than disposable Human Resources to corporations, dependable Consumers to the owners of the means of production, and grist for the Bush Administration's mill. We live in a nihilistic world governed by Social Darwinism, and if we do not fend for ourselves then we will be consumed by the wiles of this society. We have to do for self - For Us By Us - for as the cliché says, "Either we stand together or we will hang separately!"
Black folks have to work together to ensure our survival in this world that preys upon us, because ultimately - looking at the Big Picture - nobody really cares about you. David talked about this often in the Psalms, noting that when his enemies came upon him to eat of his flesh they would stumble and fall. People, by and large, do not care about you - you are merely a means to an end as far as they are concerned and they have no problem with consuming you and then throwing you away. This is one reason why I, like David, marvel at God - When I consider His heavens, the work of His fingers, the moon and the stars, which He has set in place, the universe and all of the galaxies within it, what is man that He is mindful of him, the son of man that He cares for him? It seems unreal that in a universe this big the Creator of the universe would condescend to such finite, frail and fickle creatures as human beings here on this third rock from Sol. It seems unreal, but I serve a risen Savior who specializes in surreal serendipity.
It seemed unreal that Jerusalem would withstand the most powerful nation of its day, but in one night 185,000 attacking Assyrians were destroyed.
It seemed unreal that Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah - mere teenagers - would stand up against the most powerful man on earth and declare, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." They were thrown into the blazing furnace and yet they were not consumed.
It seems unreal that the Creator of the universe would send His only begotten Son down through 42 generations, taking the very nature of a servant and being made in human likeness. It seems unreal that He would sacrifice Himself on our behalf - the righteous for the unrighteous - to bring us to God. It seems unreal that on the third day He would be resurrected from a borrowed man's tomb, but I serve a risen Savior who specializes in the surreal. He transforms the possible into the ontological by simply speaking, "Let there be..." Yes, I serve a Savior who is able!
Now, of course, there are those who will not accept this testimony, calling it the monotonous musings of mindless morons or some such nonsense. Again, I concur with David when he said, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" And we know that without faith it is impossible to please God - we believe in order that we might understand. So I am praying for God to transform some things - both in the world as a whole and in my life specifically - such that people will see that God is and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Black folks have to work together to ensure our survival in this world that preys upon us, because ultimately - looking at the Big Picture - nobody really cares about you. David talked about this often in the Psalms, noting that when his enemies came upon him to eat of his flesh they would stumble and fall. People, by and large, do not care about you - you are merely a means to an end as far as they are concerned and they have no problem with consuming you and then throwing you away. This is one reason why I, like David, marvel at God - When I consider His heavens, the work of His fingers, the moon and the stars, which He has set in place, the universe and all of the galaxies within it, what is man that He is mindful of him, the son of man that He cares for him? It seems unreal that in a universe this big the Creator of the universe would condescend to such finite, frail and fickle creatures as human beings here on this third rock from Sol. It seems unreal, but I serve a risen Savior who specializes in surreal serendipity.
It seemed unreal that Jerusalem would withstand the most powerful nation of its day, but in one night 185,000 attacking Assyrians were destroyed.
It seemed unreal that Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah - mere teenagers - would stand up against the most powerful man on earth and declare, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." They were thrown into the blazing furnace and yet they were not consumed.
It seems unreal that the Creator of the universe would send His only begotten Son down through 42 generations, taking the very nature of a servant and being made in human likeness. It seems unreal that He would sacrifice Himself on our behalf - the righteous for the unrighteous - to bring us to God. It seems unreal that on the third day He would be resurrected from a borrowed man's tomb, but I serve a risen Savior who specializes in the surreal. He transforms the possible into the ontological by simply speaking, "Let there be..." Yes, I serve a Savior who is able!
Now, of course, there are those who will not accept this testimony, calling it the monotonous musings of mindless morons or some such nonsense. Again, I concur with David when he said, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" And we know that without faith it is impossible to please God - we believe in order that we might understand. So I am praying for God to transform some things - both in the world as a whole and in my life specifically - such that people will see that God is and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
May The LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who is sovereign over the Big Picture,
My He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who is sovereign over the Big Picture,
My He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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