God In a Pinhead
source: NASA
John Ortberg tells the story of the work of psychologist Milton Rokeach and his experience with three men, Leon, Joseph, and Clyde, who each thought they were the Messiah.
It was a bit frustrating at times. Rokeach would have the men together and one would say, “I’m the Messiah, the Son of God. I am on a mission. I was sent to save the earth.”
And the good doctor would ask, “How do you know?” “God told me,” the man replied.
Upon which another one of the ‘messiahs’ would chime in, “I never told you any such thing.”
You think you’ve got problems.
When you get right down to it, it’s pretty heady stuff to claim to be God’s divine Son as Jesus did. People are ready to concede that Jesus was a great prophet, a good teacher, and a fine fellow. But God?
Those folks who like to ring your doorbell and argue about religion, kick into overdrive with their arguments when you state that Jesus was the divine Son of God. Maybe, He was an angel or a prophet but they just can’t imagine God walking on the earth. Or God warming His hands at a campfire. Or eating fish sandwiches. Or sneezing.
Sneezing? Yeah, I just threw that in there to see if you were listening, but I’m pretty sure He did sneeze. He experienced life just like you and me.
We have a hard time with that but the One who said, “Let there be light!” also said, “Could you pass the salt, please?” (Or something like that).The One who provided everything the universe needs to function and everything a flower needs to grow, also paid his tax along with Peter. Sometimes I’m blown away when I think about how vast and strong God is and how far the universe He created is beyond my understanding.
NASA’s website says, “Beyond our own galaxy lie a vast expanse of galaxies. The deeper we see into space, the more galaxies we discover. There are billions of galaxies, the most distant of which are so far away that the light arriving from them on Earth today set out from the galaxies billions of years ago. So we see them not as they are today, but as they looked long before there was any life on Earth.” (http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/58/features/F_How_Big_is_Our_Universe.html)
Richard Dawkins nails it without meaning to nail it when he mocks God in his book, The God Delusion, ““A god who is capable of sending intelligible signals to millions of people simultaneously, and of receiving messages from all of them simultaneously, cannot be, whatever else he might be, simple. Such Bandwidth!”
And boy, oh, boy! He’s not simple. You got that, Mr. Dawkins. (By the way, a computer can send and receive intelligible signals to many people at the same time. Why not Eternal God?)
Nano-God?
God’s grandness amazes me. But, you know what amazes me even more? His smallness. In nature the universe is infinitely bigger than each one of us but nano-scientists are discovering a world that’s infinitely small, existing all around us.
And that’s kind of what Jesus was when He walked on the earth. If you’ll pardon the expression, He was “nano-God,” God the size of a pinhead in relationship to the vast extent of the universe.
All-powerful, Eternal God sitting next to a campfire telling stories about His Father–that was Jesus. His disciple Phillip voiced what many have felt, ““Master, show us the Father; then we’ll be content.” (John 14:6, The Message) In Jesus’ answer, we glimpse His origins, “You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father.”
One of His closest earthly friends called Him the Word and wrote of Him, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-4, NIV)
And a man who had hated Jesus passionately later had a special revelation about Him. Paul wrote, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Col. 1:16-20, NIV)
Everything that God was, lived in His Son. No wonder Thomas erupted with, “My Lord and my God!” when he saw Jesus, back from the dead. Some people think that it’s not really important what you think about Jesus.
But, no great prophet ever had the power to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. No great teacher could make me a new creature in God. Only Jesus—Son of God, Creator, Lord, the Christ and most especially, Savior! Have you put your faith in Him as your Savior?
__________________________________________________________ Have a think — Prosperity without an eternal perspective is dangerous. Bayless Conley
Smile— A baby’s laughter is one of the most beautiful sounds you’ll ever hear. Unless it’s 3 AM, you’re home alone, and you don’t have a baby. (passed on by Terry Goff)
needle image: www.microsoftoffice.com