The well known Christian writer C.S. Lewis is rightly praised for the clarity of his defence of Christianity and I would like to quote him as an introduction to this blog post."We are in no position to draw up maps of God’ psychology, and prescribe limits to his interests - The doctrine that God is love and that he delights in men, are positive doctrines not limiting doctrines. He is not less than this. What more he may be, we do not know; we only know that he must be more than we can conceive. (Therefore) it is to be expected that his creation should be, in the main, unintelligible to us". - Quoted from "God in the Dock".
Well, Professor Lewis was writing in 1943, we know much more about the universe than in the 1940’s, but although we may know more of "how" we still know little of "why".
In its very first phrase the Bible makes a statement about God that would be impossible to simplify - "In the beginning God" - Genesis 1: 1
Then it goes on to say what God did, "(He) created the heavens and the earth". But no effort is made to describe God, because in the main he is indescribable, and inconceivable to man. The apostle Paul in his pastoral letter to Timothy declares -
God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no - one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might forever. Amen - 1 Timothy 6:16
Much of God’s thinking, much of what is of interest to him, is quite beyond our conception. But we do know some things about him through the wonder of his creation; the Psalmist writes -
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world - Psalm 19: 1 to 6
God has also revealed himself to us through his Word -
"Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens" - Psalm 119: 89
And -"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" - Psalm 119: 105
It has been said that we should not worry too much about what we don't know about God, but rather, we should be doing something about what we do know about him. To know more about him, and more importantly, to know him, we must come to Jesus Christ his Son. The writer to the Hebrews begins that great Biblical book declaring -
"In these last days (God) has spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being" - Hebrews 1: 1 & 2
Referring back to Professor Lewis, he tells us that one of the things that we do know about God is that "God is Love" - I John 4: 16. He calls this very positive, and so it is. Do you realize that God loves you, and that he wants you to know him?
In the Apostle John’s gospel we read -
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life - John 3: 16.
You, who are reading this blog post, are one of the "whoever". Will you pray to him now, recognizing your need of forgiveness, and have your life transformed from today to eternity?
Gordon Guillermo Burgess,
The Pastor.
http://www.christianchurchofthegoodshepherd.blogspot.com/
