|
Wonderfully Made
THE PRESENT LANDSCAPE
For the Earth is the Lords, and the fullness thereof.
A wise man once said that Christianity is a beggar going into business with a millionaire. I think Creation was always meant to overwhelm us, and point us in God’s direction. Simply put, it’s the most awe-inspiring, universal portrait ever painted. In every country, in every language, and in living color throughout the ages, there stands before mankind this magnificent creation. And at some point, you’ve gotta do something with it. Although 6,000 years removed from Adam, His handiwork has not lost a step. Scripture says out of the abundance of the heart, a man speaketh. Behold then, the heart of our God, displayed in this incredible Creation that surrounds us. Where we are…when we are…what we are…is all royally gilded in this elegant, majestic Creation.
We can say of a certainty, the nature of our God is one of diversity. There are over 400,000 different kinds of plants growing on the Earth today. These include 33,000 kinds of moss, 6,000 varieties of apples, and in the United States alone, over 1,000 types of grasses. The animal kingdom is no less diverse. There are some 30,000 species of birds flying in the waters above. The moth has over 150,000 varieties. There are 13,000 kinds of fish swimming in the waters below, and even 1,800 ilks of lizard trekking across the dry land.
This is a God of infinite, sub-atomic detail, of breath-taking beauty, and of fearful power. With all of our vaunted technology, we are unable to create a single ladybug who could beget another. At our cutting edges of discovery, we find his fingerprints. We peer into the deepest parts of outer space, there to find His mathematical constants, as footprints in the stardust. His remarkable creation just goes on and on … perhaps as endless as time and space themselves. And billions of humans, and billions of spirits and demons and angels, cannot alter one jot or tittle of this resilient Creation that God has wrought.
So while we should be students of the scriptures; we ought to as passionately be students of this great Creation. Both, after all, are from the Word of God … the heart of God … the abundance of His heart, made manifest for all to see. Jesus taught parables and object lessons entirely from the Creation. He spoke of fig trees, farmers, fish, sheep, mountains, pearls, vineyards, seeds, wheat and tares, birds, rocks, leaven, wine, widows, and worms. He was so tuned to life’s meaning, so clearly displayed all around Him. He knew the deeper meanings of the Creation, and taught them to the children of men. The story of the pearl of great price is so much more than a merchant finding truth. A pearl is the result of a clam’s life-long struggle against a thorn in its flesh. Then, due entirely to the shrine our clam has built around this thorn, he is coldly discarded from the land of the living, just so the Earth may behold his nacre work. The Earth is indeed, the showcase for the universe. But the Earth is not the world. The Earth is God’s handiwork, while the world is man’s handiwork. The Earth is a Creation from the mouth of God; while the world is man’s reaction to, and man’s employment of, that Creation. It is the summary result of man’s history and progress. The Greek word for world is “Kosmos,” meaning: “surface decoration”. While the world may cover the Earth like a living, breathing blanket, it is not the Earth. For the pillars of the Earth are the Lord’s, and He hath set the world upon them.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the Earth. The world began afterwards, and evolved as man set out to subdue it, and take dominion over it. Today, the Earth is just as fascinating, just as beautiful, as it was on Day Seven. But the world that decorates the Earth’s surface has become corrupt beyond measure. Is it any wonder that we are admonished to: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. ? The thin line between the Earth and the world, grows even fainter in these last days. The glitz, the bling, and the buzz of today’s world has all but blinded humanity. We’ve lost sight of the Earth, and its many latent lessons, from the heart of God.
Historically, you and I are the most unique generation ever to walk the planet Earth. What makes us unique is, in a word, knowledge. From Adam until about 200 years ago, knowledge sorta lurked in the basement. Maybe a one or two, on a scale of ten. From 1800 to 1900 A.D., okay, maybe it rose to a three. But from @ 1900 A.D. until today, knowledge has broken the mold, skyrocketed off the charts, and continues to soar unchecked.
Our generation was born into technology. It’s all we’ve ever known, and it’s all we can relate to. We have no tangible point of reference. If we could momentarily escape our little capsule of time, and view the entire 6,000 year history of man, this explosion of knowledge in the last 100 years would give us pause. Wouldn’t you know, the original fall of man involved knowledge.
The seeds of this amazing revolution were probably the discovery of electricity, the urbanization of peoples, and perhaps the printing press. Men began to share their research and discoveries. Watered by this info-sharing, some of the first sprigs to crop up were the automobile, the telephone, the light bulb, the airplane, and the television. Though scarcely 100 years old, these marvelous inventions are now out-dated grandfathers. Their offspring would boggle the mind of King Solomon. The computer, the world wide web, the electron microscope, the radio telescope, the ATM machine, the cell phone, space travel, nuclear warfare, nanotechnology, smart bombs, night vision, laser surgery, mass transit systems, gene splicing, global positioning, microbiology, infra-red imaging, cloning, stem cell research … the list is virtually endless. Add to this, that new technology breeds newer technology, and there appears to be no end in sight.
Here then is our educated landscape, the stage upon which this last generation will play out the finale. We…our generation…are the human race at the ragged end of Day Six. The final act is upon us. We are a sea of people, helplessly infected with a 6,000 year old law of sin in our members. The only world we know, is a world un-imagined by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, or the Apostles of Jesus Christ. At the great judgment, 6,000 years of humanity will be gathered. Billions upon billions of people. Of these billions, 5,900 years worth… or fully 98% of all humanity…will not know what a telephone or a car is. Of these billions of champions who lived life on Earth, 98% lived that life with no phone, no car to run to the store in, no store to run to, no electricity, no television or computer or video games, no hot water heater, no water and sewage systems, no hospitals, no restaurants, no clothing stores, no refrigerator, no air conditioning or central heat. 98% of this sea of all humanity past and present, knows nothing of these things we call basic. We are the most unique 6.5 billion people ever to walk this planet. But I do not believe we are the most blessed generation. That other 98% of human history were much more blessed, because when life is simpler, God is closer. Never has it been truer than today, that: For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God. Our progress, our technology, and our wisdom have alienated us from God, just as He predicted.
Besides being saturated with our dizzying knowledge, this generation thrives on world-wide religions as never before. Thousands of religions are being practiced today. Here is a list of the top ten religions, on the last day’s landscape:
1. Christianity
2. Islam
3. Hinduism
4. Secular / Non-religious / Agonistic / Atheist
5. Buddhism
6. Chinese Traditional
7. Primal – indigenous
8. African Traditional / Diasporic
9. Sikhism
10. Juche
These top ten are embraced by over 5 billion souls today. Each soul is precious, having fought as a champion for the prize of living. Each has staked his eternity on his belief. I have personally studied the origins and doctrines of many on this list. I’ve studied the bible for most of my life; read the Koran from cover to cover; researched the Hindu and Buddhist histories. At the end of the day, I am perplexed…dumb-struck…that such large masses of people could so easily, and so completely, be hoodwinked out of their eternal soul. Thank God for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. I’ve come to realize that most of these, have a blindness born by culture and heritage. May God have mercy on their souls. But ultimately, and in all places, I think it soon becomes blindness by choice. Why? Because the same breath-taking Creation, is displayed in all of its glory, before one and all. Every soul is given his lifetime to contemplate its mystery, and its meaning and beauty. Every soul is given a heart, a mind, and an eternal void in their soul, compelling them to search for God and truth. Moreover, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been delivered to all the world. Even if it hadn’t been, His glorious Gospel is written in the stars, and in every part of His creation. It is hidden from none. It becomes blindness by choice because: … The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole Earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him. And because: The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly. A central part of God’s creation, is this immutable law, that he who seeks God will find him. He who seeks God more, will find more of Him. Nobody can stand between you and God, but you. As the great Apostle so fitly spoke: For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse;
Today, our curtain rises at sunset on the sixth day. Actually, the sun is already down, and the thief in the night cometh. With each passing day the dusk thickens, and the ability to see things clearly diminishes. We have inherited a landscape, meticulously nurtured and prepared, for thousand of years. Incredible strides in knowledge, in technology, and in quality of life. A smorgasbord of religious options, for whatever you’d like to believe about God and the world. But be of good cheer, friend…somewhere, in all of this morass of activity and religion, here at the ragged end of time, stands the truth, and the true church of Jesus, the Christ of God.
|
Linear Mode
