Tonight was youth group for our church and a friend asked me to teach. In spite of my recent leave of absence at my school, I still love teaching. Maybe I should be more specific, I love the art of teaching. While I was working at my school, I felt more like a statistics person than a teacher with all the data analysis we were supposed to do. It's fine if it makes you a better teacher, but often times we get so hung up on the data analysis that we forget the point of it all.
Alright, back to the point of the post. We're in a study about how Genesis talks about and foreshadows the Gospel. It's called 'Creation Unraveled' and so far is excellent. Of course, when you prep for something you have to know it better than anyone so maybe that's why I think it's so great so far. Tonight was session 2, entitled 'The Bigness and Nearness of God.' What it was emphasizing was that God is complex. In Genesis 1 it refers to God as Elohim in the original Hebrew, meaning mighty, powerful, big. In chapter 2 of Genesis it essentially retells the same creation story, only this time it refers to God as Yahweh, meaning close, personal, near.
Right from the beginning of Scripture we see these two seemingly contradictory characteristics of God. On the one hand, the Elohim side, is the wrath and power and might of God. On the other hand is the closeness, the friendship and mercy of God. How can this be? The leader guide pointed out a few verses that seem to show one side or the other. It mentioned how Uzzah was smote because he tried to catch the tabernacle of God but then in the Gospel account a lady was commended for her faith for touching the cloak of Jesus.
Some people refer to an Old Testament God and a New Testament God. People see the Old Testament God as the ultimate Judge and wrathful and the New Testament God as some kind of hippie do-gooder who just loves everyone and draws them to Himself. Make no mistake here, He is both. He is the God of the Old Testament and the New Testament, He is the God of the Bible entirely. In the leader guide it asked if you've ever thought of God as bipolar. I never have thought that but I have wondered how He handles all sorts of emotions all at once. Being a bipolar person it has always made me question how God can handle being so proud of some of His servants while simultaneously being heart-broken over the sin and the consequences of sin in this world. That's just it though, I'm not called to understand, just to know that God's ways are higher than mine, and He's much more complex than I am. I'm simply called to trust Jesus. Trust that He's enough to satisfy my soul and my deepest longings and desires.
How can God be both big and near to us? How can He not be? To emphasize one without the other is to discount who God is and to make a god of our own heart rather than the One we find in the Bible. This is also referred to as idolatry, and something we need to be careful of not to follow the Israelites in the Old Testament. We don't often think of idolatry as a problem these days since it's usually met with a connotation of wood and stone idols. An idol though, is anything that takes the place of God in our hearts and minds. It's ultimately what we worship. What takes up the majority of your thoughts and feelings? For some people it's their significant other. Other people are obsessed with being entertained on a constant basis. Still others essentially worship their families. If you want to find out who you are worshiping, simply ask yourself what or who you spend the most time thinking about. That's usually a pretty good indicator.
How can we know if we're worshiping God or some idol of our own making? Well, we have to know what the Bible says about God to know if we're actually worshiping the triune God or not. Don't just take what your preacher or pastor says about God as fact. Search the Scriptures, find out who He is. I've always been amazed at how many Christians have never read through the Bible even once in their lives. How can you claim to love Someone who you don't know? Obviously there are exceptions to this rule as not everyone can read whether that is due to a mental disability or a lack of access to a basic education. However, for those of us who can read, there is really no excuse for not reading the Bible. I have a friend who hates to read but while he was working a landscape job he listened to the Bible all the way through on his phone app. That's a great idea. He got through a 90 day Bible in 20 days or something ridiculous I think when he did that because he listened to it all day everyday while he was working. I know, I know, everyone's busy. This is of utmost importance though, isn't it? I mean, surely a chapter a day wouldn't hurt anyone. It's May 1st, why not try and read through the book of Proverbs this month. It has 31 chapters for 31 days and is a great place to start if you need wisdom, which is all of us in case you were wondering.
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