Expanding Our View of God by Ann-Louise Gremminger
When my oldest son was in 2nd grade, he created a mobile depicting the planets of our solar system in their respective orbits. For some time afterwards, he was fascinated by the night sky. His grandmother gave him a telescope for Christmas that year and he spent many hours studying the constellations. On clear nights, we would sometimes set take the telescope up the hill behind our home. Without any prompting, my son seemed to appreciate the need to understand the stars in their context with others in the sky. Before setting up the telescope on its little tripod, he would point out the North Star, the Big Dipper, etc. Then he would focus on each one individually for a time and then look away from the lens to view the entire panorama of the night sky before looking at the next object of interest.
Think about a telescope for a moment. Simply put, a telescope uses lenses and a mirror to focus and reflect light, thereby magnifying the object being viewed. The Hubble Telescope, despite its size and added technology, operates on these same basic principles. Imagine if this great marvel of modern science was placed in a fixed position, only able to view images in one small area of the cosmos. Obviously, we would not know as much about the vast expanse of space as we do today.
We have been given a "telescope" of another kind in God's Word, the Bible. It also uses "lenses" and a "mirror" to reflect Light and magnify the Object being viewed. Sometimes this "telescope" is placed in a fixed position, minimizing our view of God, His character and His works. The "-isms" of Christianity tend to create schisms (divisions) and distort our view of God. Here are a few of the more familiar "-isms"--
- Dispensationalism
- Pentecostalism
- Legalism
Each "-ism" tends to take one aspect of truth and zoom in on it to the extent that they fail to see the whole picture and produce a skewed view of God. Dispensationalists can become so rigid in their view of the covenants of God that they miss what God wants to do in and through them today. Pentecostals sometimes become limited in their vision of God's work in our lives by narrowing the focus to sign gifts alone. Legalists often greatly magnify the holiness of God and severely minimize His grace, mercy and forgiveness.
We need to appreciate all of God's promises and work in light of the context of the whole expanse of His Word and character. Otherwise, we will miss so much of the beauty, the light and the glory of who He is, what He has done and what He will do. If the Hubble telescope were in a fixed position, with one focus on one small part of space, we might see an image such as the following and say, "Well, that's nice. So that's what space looks like."
Think about a telescope for a moment. Simply put, a telescope uses lenses and a mirror to focus and reflect light, thereby magnifying the object being viewed. The Hubble Telescope, despite its size and added technology, operates on these same basic principles. Imagine if this great marvel of modern science was placed in a fixed position, only able to view images in one small area of the cosmos. Obviously, we would not know as much about the vast expanse of space as we do today.
We have been given a "telescope" of another kind in God's Word, the Bible. It also uses "lenses" and a "mirror" to reflect Light and magnify the Object being viewed. Sometimes this "telescope" is placed in a fixed position, minimizing our view of God, His character and His works. The "-isms" of Christianity tend to create schisms (divisions) and distort our view of God. Here are a few of the more familiar "-isms"--
- Dispensationalism
- Pentecostalism
- Legalism
Each "-ism" tends to take one aspect of truth and zoom in on it to the extent that they fail to see the whole picture and produce a skewed view of God. Dispensationalists can become so rigid in their view of the covenants of God that they miss what God wants to do in and through them today. Pentecostals sometimes become limited in their vision of God's work in our lives by narrowing the focus to sign gifts alone. Legalists often greatly magnify the holiness of God and severely minimize His grace, mercy and forgiveness.
We need to appreciate all of God's promises and work in light of the context of the whole expanse of His Word and character. Otherwise, we will miss so much of the beauty, the light and the glory of who He is, what He has done and what He will do. If the Hubble telescope were in a fixed position, with one focus on one small part of space, we might see an image such as the following and say, "Well, that's nice. So that's what space looks like."
However, when viewed in context, that same cluster of stars appears so much more magnificent.
Check this out..
Check this out..
Do you see how much we miss when we focus solely on one small part that draws our attention? The picture above only represents a tiny fraction of the wonders of God's creation. Think about how much we miss of God when we focus primarily upon one aspect of who He is.
Isaiah speaks of God as "he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in" (Isa 40:22)
This same God who "stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in" is the same God who has stretched out His Word to reveal Himself to us. Why? For us to dwell in it and know Him through it. Paul had an expanded view of God and did not allow his focus to become distorted or minimized, saying, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).
God has so much more in store for us and is so much bigger than we can possibly imagine. Let's not miss out on understanding Him and His ways because of a distorted or minimalist view. May the Lord enable us to understand Him and His works in the context of His entire revealed character and Word.
Images above from:
NASA and The Space Telescope Science Institute
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/
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Isaiah speaks of God as "he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in" (Isa 40:22)
This same God who "stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in" is the same God who has stretched out His Word to reveal Himself to us. Why? For us to dwell in it and know Him through it. Paul had an expanded view of God and did not allow his focus to become distorted or minimized, saying, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).
God has so much more in store for us and is so much bigger than we can possibly imagine. Let's not miss out on understanding Him and His ways because of a distorted or minimalist view. May the Lord enable us to understand Him and His works in the context of His entire revealed character and Word.
Images above from:
NASA and The Space Telescope Science Institute
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/
More Articles Home Page
