The other day, I had the opportunity to teach on the Lord’s Prayer. Parts of that exercise will keep showing up in the next several installments of the aBeLOG.
Imagine the sun is an orange, about 3 inches in diameter. On that scale, the earth is a grain of sand about 26 feet away. On that scale, the next nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is a staggering 1,500 miles away (the distance from Dallas, TX to Washington, DC). And these, plus another 200–400 billion stars, populate the Milky Way, which—on that same scale—would be about 37.5 million miles wide. (In actuality, the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years in diameter = 600,000,000,000,000,000 miles.) And the Hubble Space Telescope estimates there are 100s of billions of such galaxies. Can you even imagine the vastness of the universe?
Every one of the billions of stars in the universe is there by God's specific appointment. He knows their number. And He even knows them by name—they do His bidding as His personal agents.
And all this magnificence is only the hem of his grand and glorious garment.
The Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, unlike no other, incomparable, sublime.
And—wonder of wonders—this God is … our Father. This is the one to whom we pray: “Our Father who is in heaven.” This great God, omnipresent (being ever present from the distant reaches of the farthest planet to the inscrutable interatomic spaces), omniscient (knowing everything—past, present, future, actual and possible, real and imagined), and omnipotent (finding nothing impossible for Him), is—believe it or not—our Father.
The New Testament calls God “Father” almost 300 times. Jesus used nothing but “Father” to address God when He prayed (except on the cross). This sovereign God … our Father. Here is the essence of Christian life: it is a relationship—a child-parent relationship with God, that begins when we place our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. A relationship that recognizes our ongoing need of God. As we call Him “Father,” we acknowledge our continued dependence on Him and His absolute capacity to be sufficient for us.
Life, I have discerned, is messy! I realize that for some to call God “Father” might bring back painful memories. Jesus was aware of that, too. He realized how fallible earthly fathers were, how inadequate. He said:
What we must ask is not whether we should call God our “Father.” We should. He is. The question is can we ever call our earthly fathers our real Father. God is better than the best earthly father you could ever have had. He is the true Father. The real Father, who cares, who loves, who gives. That’s why we can go to Him …
That’s why we can pray, “Our Father!” So … pray with confidence!
Our Father, who is in heaven ….
Matthew 6:9
Matthew 6:9
Imagine the sun is an orange, about 3 inches in diameter. On that scale, the earth is a grain of sand about 26 feet away. On that scale, the next nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is a staggering 1,500 miles away (the distance from Dallas, TX to Washington, DC). And these, plus another 200–400 billion stars, populate the Milky Way, which—on that same scale—would be about 37.5 million miles wide. (In actuality, the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years in diameter = 600,000,000,000,000,000 miles.) And the Hubble Space Telescope estimates there are 100s of billions of such galaxies. Can you even imagine the vastness of the universe?
“To whom then will you liken Me
that I would be his equal?”
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these stars,
the One who leads forth
their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
because of the greatness of His might
and the strength of His power,
not one of them is missing.
Isaiah 40:25–26
that I would be his equal?”
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these stars,
the One who leads forth
their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
because of the greatness of His might
and the strength of His power,
not one of them is missing.
Isaiah 40:25–26
Every one of the billions of stars in the universe is there by God's specific appointment. He knows their number. And He even knows them by name—they do His bidding as His personal agents.
And all this magnificence is only the hem of his grand and glorious garment.
In the beginning
God created
the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
God created
the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
The Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, unlike no other, incomparable, sublime.
And—wonder of wonders—this God is … our Father. This is the one to whom we pray: “Our Father who is in heaven.” This great God, omnipresent (being ever present from the distant reaches of the farthest planet to the inscrutable interatomic spaces), omniscient (knowing everything—past, present, future, actual and possible, real and imagined), and omnipotent (finding nothing impossible for Him), is—believe it or not—our Father.
The New Testament calls God “Father” almost 300 times. Jesus used nothing but “Father” to address God when He prayed (except on the cross). This sovereign God … our Father. Here is the essence of Christian life: it is a relationship—a child-parent relationship with God, that begins when we place our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. A relationship that recognizes our ongoing need of God. As we call Him “Father,” we acknowledge our continued dependence on Him and His absolute capacity to be sufficient for us.
Life, I have discerned, is messy! I realize that for some to call God “Father” might bring back painful memories. Jesus was aware of that, too. He realized how fallible earthly fathers were, how inadequate. He said:
“Do not call anyone
on earth your father;
for One is your Father,
He who is in heaven.”
Matthew 23:9
on earth your father;
for One is your Father,
He who is in heaven.”
Matthew 23:9
What we must ask is not whether we should call God our “Father.” We should. He is. The question is can we ever call our earthly fathers our real Father. God is better than the best earthly father you could ever have had. He is the true Father. The real Father, who cares, who loves, who gives. That’s why we can go to Him …
… casting all your anxiety on Him,
because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
That’s why we can pray, “Our Father!” So … pray with confidence!
Posts
4 comments:
Abe~ another awesome portrayal of how great the universe is and how much greater MY Father is. I love Isaiah 40:12 where it says that God holds the Universe in the span of his hand. Ryrie says that the span is generally considered to be 9 inches or about the distance between your pinky finger and your thumb; ~ *taking deep sigh* and He still knows how many hairs on my head? ~~~ *taking yet another deep sigh* ~~~ Awesome indeed. ~~~><> PpGrg
BTW ~ forgot to mention that I love to look to see where you place your mug in the pictures you post. Today I was intrigued to see that your nose looks like a cyclone. :) ... PpG
Yeah, right! Thanks, George, for the sage observations on my anatomy.
Abe
Abe
As an old friend,I have one plea-keep on writing/encouraging.Your blogs are scriptural, erudite and tugs on our heartstrings.I am sure there are many who look foward to Sunday afternoons to read your latest offering.You are chosen of our Lord to minister to many of our ilk-medics and others.We have been privilaged to know you-and renew old memories.
Our Lord bless and keep you and make His light shine upon you
Rajiv
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