let thy glory be above all the earth."
(Psalm 57:5)
Have we forgotten the creator?
The creator of the heavens and the earth... and the creator of us! Like Jeremiah the prophet, God could say to us, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you..." (Jeremiah 1:5) He is planning out and orchestrating our lives to conform us to the image of His son. (Romans 8:28-29) He knows the best way for us to be us!
He is the creator, we are the creatures. We can't forget that. In order for us to live the most peaceable, enjoyable experience that we can live, we have got to get that right.
It is true that order in nature depends upon right relationships; to achieve harmony each thing must be in its proper position relative to each other thing. In human life it is not other wise.
The right relationship with our creator would be to have Him as our Lord. Many of us would claim to be in that right relationship with Him. We might call ourselves "Christians" or we might say that we are "saved." We might even "call" Jesus Lord! But is that really true, or is it just words? How does this right relationship begin?
A satisfactory spiritual life will begin with a complete change in relation between God and the sinner; not a judicial change merely, but a conscious and experienced change affecting the sinner's whole nature. The atonement in Jesus' blood makes such a change judicially possible and the working of the Holy Spirit makes it emotionally satisfying.
There are many of us who have been "toying around" with God's grace most of our lives. We have claimed this salvation stuff, but we have never really lived it. It has only been words. Jesus is not Lord.
Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image. The flesh whimpers against the rigor of God's inexorable sentence and begs like Agag for a little mercy, a little indulgence of its carnal ways. It is no use. We can get a right start only by accepting God as He is and learning to love Him for what He is. As we go on to know Him better we shall find it a source of unspeakable joy that God is just as He is.
But how can we know if we are on the right path? How do we know that we are claiming Jesus as Lord and really meaning it?
Our break with the world will be the direct outcome of our changed relation to God. For the world of fallen men does not honor God. Millions call themselves by his name, it is true, and pay some token respect to Him, but a simple test will show how little He is really honored among them. Let the average man be put to the proof on the question of who or what is above, and his true position will be exposed. Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, between God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human love, and God will take second place every time. Those other things will be exalted above. However the man may protest, the proof is in the choices he makes day after day throughout his life.
Who is your lord? What do your choices say about you? I hope that if Jesus is not really your Lord, if He is simply a figure-head, that you will repent and turn and seek Him. May you be like the prodigal son coming back to the father!
God wants the whole person, and He will not rest till He gets us in entirety. No part of the man will do.
Check out the bookThe Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer.
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