Don’t Blink!
Last week, I spent some time visiting with Eileen and Kim at a neighborhood pool. Because both of them have young children, we lounged in the baby pool and talked rather than swimming and diving in the real pool. While Kim held Kaitlin and Eileen supervised Emilee’s splashing around, I asked Kim about this past year. That day was Kaitlin’s first birthday, and I knew it was a milestone for Kim, a time to remember an important day not too long ago when her life had changed so dramatically. Thinking it would seem like a long time ago to her, I said, “so much has happened since Kaitlin was born, it must seem like years ago rather than only a year.”
“Actually,” Kim said with wide eyes, it has gone by SO fast! I have never known time to go by so quickly.”
As we sat there and talked, pausing momentarily to laugh at Emilee’s antics, two older boys came and jumped into the baby pool. They were followed by their mother, a middle-aged woman who didn’t seem too pleased with them. “Get out of that pool,” she scolded with a New Jersey accent that somehow made the command seem absolutely nonnegotiable. “You are too old for that!” She smiled at us apologetically and looked at baby Kaitlin with a twinkle in her eye. She then said to Kim, “Don’t blink! You’ll open your eyes and she’ll be grown up! It goes by so fast.” With that, she shooed her sons out of the pool and the entire crew scampered away, leaving us to thoughtfully consider her words.
In the wake of that wise mother’s comments, my thoughts wandered to the Psalms. So many times throughout this collection of songs and poetry, the psalmists are forced to admit how fleeting and finite their lives are in light of the everlasting nature of God. They gaze upon God, and doing so makes them see themselves and their lives with a humbler perspective. In Psalm 144, David exclaims, “O Lord, what is man that Thou dost take knowledge of him? . . . Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (verse 4). In Psalm 90, Moses contrasts God’s permanence with his own transience. He speaks of God as existing “before the mountains were born” and before God gave birth to the Earth (verse 2). Indeed, Moses notes, God has been God “from everlasting to everlasting” ( verse 2). Man, in contrast, turns back to dust after a brief lifespan of seventy or eighty years.* Even our years themselves, tiny units of measurement that we use to quantify this short life of ours, are miniscule to God. Moses remarks that “a thousand years in Your [God’s] sight are like yesterday when it passes by or as a watch in the night” (verse 4). To one with the infinite perspective of God, Moses theorizes, the span of our lives is like a moment that is over almost as quickly as one can blink an eye.
Numbering Our Days
In his sermon on Sunday, Rich drew from Moses’ Psalm 90 to point something out: because our lives are so short, it would behoove us to consider how to live them so that we don’t miss what is most important – God Himself. Moses, after considering the insignificance of man’s lifespan, prays earnestly, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom” (verse 12). Here, Moses is literally pleading with God to help him understand the brevity of his own life. Moses believes that if he continually remembers that his days are limited, he will gain wisdom. According to the book of Proverbs, wisdom is knowledge that is founded on an awareness of and fear of God. So when Moses asks God for a heart of wisdom, he is praying for a type of intelligence that first acknowledges God. Having this wisdom will inform Moses’ actions, and as a result, he will act as one who understands how valuable his time is and as one who seeks to use it a in way that pleases God.
Following this prayer for wisdom, Moses asks that God would not be far from him, but that His presence would be palpably evident at the beginning of each new day: “O satisfy us in the morning with Thy loving-kindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all of our days” (verse 14). Here, Moses’ earnest request suggests that God’s favor and nearness are essential to his life’s satisfaction and contentment. After reading these verses to us in his sermon, Rich turned his attention from Moses to us.
Full Plates
In an effort to bring Moses’ ancient prayer to life and to relate it to our daily situations, Rich used a dinner plate. Rich said that if the world is a buffet table with an unlimited supply of food, our lives are like plates. We only have one plate to fill per day, and, as Moses states so categorically in Psalm 90, our days are finite. Each day, we tend to fill our plates high with plans, activities, and agendas. Sometimes, our plates are so heavily laden with “food” that we become overwhelmed. This leaves very little room, if any room at all, for God. Rich pointed out that if we want to live a surrendered life, we must bring our empty plates to God each morning and allow Him to fill them.
Taking the Time to Gaze at God
Rich explained to us that it is important that we give God our attention each day at some point. He said that he likes to get up early in the morning and pray and read scripture before his work day starts. Other people, however, may find that the early morning does not work well for them. Instead, they may find it easier to turn their attention to God at some other point in their day. The time and place of our meetings with God may vary, but what is most important is that we have the “meeting” at some point.
One of the most powerful moments in Rich’s sermon was when he asked us to close our eyes and gaze heavenward. As we sat there in self-imposed darkness, he asked us to look at God and listen to what our Heavenly Father would say to us. At the end of this exercise, Rich postulated that some people may have heard God express His love for them; some people may have heard God say that He wants to comfort them in the midst of the difficulty they are going through; and others may have heard that God is pleased with them. Still others, Rich suggested, were probably afraid to look at God. They were fearful of what they might hear. These people should take heart, because ultimately, our Heavenly Father loves us and doesn’t desire to punish us. The result of gazing at Him in faith can have effects that are both life-giving and life-sustaining.
Gazing at God: Life Sustaining
To the person who already believes in Jesus and has surrendered his life to Him, gazing at God becomes a vital part of nourishing and sustaining that relationship. In John 15, Jesus describes the relationship between Himself and believers as being like the relationship between a vine and its branches. Branches cannot live apart from the vine from which they grow. It is through that vine that they receive nutrients and hydration. The same principle holds true in the relationship between a believer and Christ. If a believer does not have a healthy, well nourished relationship with Christ, he will not flourish. For this reason, we must “gaze at God” often. We may gaze at God to praise him, or gaze at God to hear an “I love you” from Him or gaze at God to receive instruction and direction for a particular situation. Regardless, gazing at God is part of sustaining our relationship with Christ.
In chapter three of Acts, a passage which Rich read to us this week and last week, Peter and John encounter a crippled beggar whom God eventually heals through them. These two men could not have been a part of the beggar’s healing if they had not been taking the time to gaze at God. In fact, when they encountered the beggar, they were on the way to the temple to pray. They were particularly sensitive to God at that moment because they were going to the temple to look heavenward in prayer. Not only did Peter and John have an established relationship with Christ; they were also listening for his voice, taking the time to be aware of him. Because they were, they had an opportunity be used by God to change another man’s life.
Gazing at God: Life Saving
To the person who does not have a relationship with Christ, gazing at God becomes an act of life-saving significance. To illustrate this type of “gazing,” Rich referenced the story of Moses and the serpents. During the Israelites’ forty-year sojourn in the wilderness, there were several points at which the beloved people of God became irritable and complained about their situation. While this may seem like a mild offense, in reality, it was a sign of unbelief in God’s wisdom and goodness. In short, the Israelites’ complaints were positive proof that they did not believe that God was going to take care of them. At one point, when they had been wandering in the wilderness for some time, they became particularly angry at God and at Moses and began to grumble speak out against them. In response to this, God sent poisonous snakes out among them, which slithered around their feet, injecting deadly venom into their bodies with each outstretched fang. The people cried out to Moses for help, and at the Lord’s instruction, Moses made a serpent of brass and put it on top of a pole. Holding the pole up high in the air where it would be visible to all, Moses told the Israelites that if they would turn their gaze upward and fix their eyes on the brass serpent, they would be invulnerable to the snakes’ venom and they would live. Many people did this and were saved, but some people refused to look at the snake and perished.
Like the Israelites, we have been bitten by a serpent, figuratively. Because the craftiest serpent, Satan, tempted Eve so long ago, sin entered the world. As a result, we are born infected with sin’s “venom.” We have a natural tendency to sin, and regardless of how good we try to act, it is impossible for us to fully meet the standard of holiness that is set forth in God’s perfect law. The only life-saving antidote is Christ’s death on the cross. Just as God, through Moses, asked the Israelites to look up to the brass serpent, Christ asks us to look to the cross and believe that He died for us and will save us. But so many people think that such things are foolish, and they would rather perish than to believe that their sin could be wiped away so “easily.” Rich made the point that sometimes, pride can keep a person from believing in the life-saving power of Christ’s death on the cross. He hypothesized that if we had been in the wilderness with the Israelites, certain ones of us may have argued with Moses, saying that looking at the serpent was too easy a solution. Rather than believe that it could be real, many of us would have refused to accept it. The same thing happens with Christ. People don’t believe that their sins have been completely forgiven by Christ because that solution is just too simple to be realistic. Unfortunately, in their stubbornness, those people end up missing out on the opportunity of eternal life and a life-sustaining relationship with God himself. Jesus draws the comparison between Moses and Himself in John 3:14-15: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” As the bronze serpent saved the Israelites from the vipers’ venom, Jesus’ death on the cross saves us from Satan’s (the infernal serpent’s) venom – sin.
Gazing at God – Another Invitation
At the very end of Sunday’s church service, Heather Hviding led us in a song about God’s love. Strumming her guitar, she sang of a love higher and broader than human love could ever be. The song was another plea, just in case people didn’t hear the plea in Rich’s message, for us to take the time to gaze at God. When beholding God results in a love like the one described in this song, it is hard to imagine not being willing to take at least one look.
His love is higher than the highest of mountains.
His love goes deeper than the deepest of seas.
His love, it stretches to the farthest horizon,
And His love . . . it reaches to me.
His love is stronger than the angels and demons.
His love, it keeps me in my life's darkest hour.
His love secures me on the pathway to heaven,
And His love . . . is my strength and power.
His love is sweeter than the sweetest of honey.
His love is better than the choicest of wine.
His love, it satisfies the deepest of hunger,
And His love . . . in Jesus, it's mine.
Scriptures Referenced in Sermon
Psalm 90:12-14
Acts 3:1-20
Numbers 21:6-9
John 3:14
Other Scriptures to Consider
Psalm 144:4
John 15:1-11
*I think it is ironic and a little funny that Moses is quoted as saying that man’s lifespan is seventy or eighty years at most because Moses himself lived to be approximately one hundred and twenty! :)
Last week, I spent some time visiting with Eileen and Kim at a neighborhood pool. Because both of them have young children, we lounged in the baby pool and talked rather than swimming and diving in the real pool. While Kim held Kaitlin and Eileen supervised Emilee’s splashing around, I asked Kim about this past year. That day was Kaitlin’s first birthday, and I knew it was a milestone for Kim, a time to remember an important day not too long ago when her life had changed so dramatically. Thinking it would seem like a long time ago to her, I said, “so much has happened since Kaitlin was born, it must seem like years ago rather than only a year.”
“Actually,” Kim said with wide eyes, it has gone by SO fast! I have never known time to go by so quickly.”
As we sat there and talked, pausing momentarily to laugh at Emilee’s antics, two older boys came and jumped into the baby pool. They were followed by their mother, a middle-aged woman who didn’t seem too pleased with them. “Get out of that pool,” she scolded with a New Jersey accent that somehow made the command seem absolutely nonnegotiable. “You are too old for that!” She smiled at us apologetically and looked at baby Kaitlin with a twinkle in her eye. She then said to Kim, “Don’t blink! You’ll open your eyes and she’ll be grown up! It goes by so fast.” With that, she shooed her sons out of the pool and the entire crew scampered away, leaving us to thoughtfully consider her words.
In the wake of that wise mother’s comments, my thoughts wandered to the Psalms. So many times throughout this collection of songs and poetry, the psalmists are forced to admit how fleeting and finite their lives are in light of the everlasting nature of God. They gaze upon God, and doing so makes them see themselves and their lives with a humbler perspective. In Psalm 144, David exclaims, “O Lord, what is man that Thou dost take knowledge of him? . . . Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (verse 4). In Psalm 90, Moses contrasts God’s permanence with his own transience. He speaks of God as existing “before the mountains were born” and before God gave birth to the Earth (verse 2). Indeed, Moses notes, God has been God “from everlasting to everlasting” ( verse 2). Man, in contrast, turns back to dust after a brief lifespan of seventy or eighty years.* Even our years themselves, tiny units of measurement that we use to quantify this short life of ours, are miniscule to God. Moses remarks that “a thousand years in Your [God’s] sight are like yesterday when it passes by or as a watch in the night” (verse 4). To one with the infinite perspective of God, Moses theorizes, the span of our lives is like a moment that is over almost as quickly as one can blink an eye.
Numbering Our Days
In his sermon on Sunday, Rich drew from Moses’ Psalm 90 to point something out: because our lives are so short, it would behoove us to consider how to live them so that we don’t miss what is most important – God Himself. Moses, after considering the insignificance of man’s lifespan, prays earnestly, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom” (verse 12). Here, Moses is literally pleading with God to help him understand the brevity of his own life. Moses believes that if he continually remembers that his days are limited, he will gain wisdom. According to the book of Proverbs, wisdom is knowledge that is founded on an awareness of and fear of God. So when Moses asks God for a heart of wisdom, he is praying for a type of intelligence that first acknowledges God. Having this wisdom will inform Moses’ actions, and as a result, he will act as one who understands how valuable his time is and as one who seeks to use it a in way that pleases God.
Following this prayer for wisdom, Moses asks that God would not be far from him, but that His presence would be palpably evident at the beginning of each new day: “O satisfy us in the morning with Thy loving-kindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all of our days” (verse 14). Here, Moses’ earnest request suggests that God’s favor and nearness are essential to his life’s satisfaction and contentment. After reading these verses to us in his sermon, Rich turned his attention from Moses to us.
Full Plates
In an effort to bring Moses’ ancient prayer to life and to relate it to our daily situations, Rich used a dinner plate. Rich said that if the world is a buffet table with an unlimited supply of food, our lives are like plates. We only have one plate to fill per day, and, as Moses states so categorically in Psalm 90, our days are finite. Each day, we tend to fill our plates high with plans, activities, and agendas. Sometimes, our plates are so heavily laden with “food” that we become overwhelmed. This leaves very little room, if any room at all, for God. Rich pointed out that if we want to live a surrendered life, we must bring our empty plates to God each morning and allow Him to fill them.
Taking the Time to Gaze at God
Rich explained to us that it is important that we give God our attention each day at some point. He said that he likes to get up early in the morning and pray and read scripture before his work day starts. Other people, however, may find that the early morning does not work well for them. Instead, they may find it easier to turn their attention to God at some other point in their day. The time and place of our meetings with God may vary, but what is most important is that we have the “meeting” at some point.
One of the most powerful moments in Rich’s sermon was when he asked us to close our eyes and gaze heavenward. As we sat there in self-imposed darkness, he asked us to look at God and listen to what our Heavenly Father would say to us. At the end of this exercise, Rich postulated that some people may have heard God express His love for them; some people may have heard God say that He wants to comfort them in the midst of the difficulty they are going through; and others may have heard that God is pleased with them. Still others, Rich suggested, were probably afraid to look at God. They were fearful of what they might hear. These people should take heart, because ultimately, our Heavenly Father loves us and doesn’t desire to punish us. The result of gazing at Him in faith can have effects that are both life-giving and life-sustaining.
Gazing at God: Life Sustaining
To the person who already believes in Jesus and has surrendered his life to Him, gazing at God becomes a vital part of nourishing and sustaining that relationship. In John 15, Jesus describes the relationship between Himself and believers as being like the relationship between a vine and its branches. Branches cannot live apart from the vine from which they grow. It is through that vine that they receive nutrients and hydration. The same principle holds true in the relationship between a believer and Christ. If a believer does not have a healthy, well nourished relationship with Christ, he will not flourish. For this reason, we must “gaze at God” often. We may gaze at God to praise him, or gaze at God to hear an “I love you” from Him or gaze at God to receive instruction and direction for a particular situation. Regardless, gazing at God is part of sustaining our relationship with Christ.
In chapter three of Acts, a passage which Rich read to us this week and last week, Peter and John encounter a crippled beggar whom God eventually heals through them. These two men could not have been a part of the beggar’s healing if they had not been taking the time to gaze at God. In fact, when they encountered the beggar, they were on the way to the temple to pray. They were particularly sensitive to God at that moment because they were going to the temple to look heavenward in prayer. Not only did Peter and John have an established relationship with Christ; they were also listening for his voice, taking the time to be aware of him. Because they were, they had an opportunity be used by God to change another man’s life.
Gazing at God: Life Saving
To the person who does not have a relationship with Christ, gazing at God becomes an act of life-saving significance. To illustrate this type of “gazing,” Rich referenced the story of Moses and the serpents. During the Israelites’ forty-year sojourn in the wilderness, there were several points at which the beloved people of God became irritable and complained about their situation. While this may seem like a mild offense, in reality, it was a sign of unbelief in God’s wisdom and goodness. In short, the Israelites’ complaints were positive proof that they did not believe that God was going to take care of them. At one point, when they had been wandering in the wilderness for some time, they became particularly angry at God and at Moses and began to grumble speak out against them. In response to this, God sent poisonous snakes out among them, which slithered around their feet, injecting deadly venom into their bodies with each outstretched fang. The people cried out to Moses for help, and at the Lord’s instruction, Moses made a serpent of brass and put it on top of a pole. Holding the pole up high in the air where it would be visible to all, Moses told the Israelites that if they would turn their gaze upward and fix their eyes on the brass serpent, they would be invulnerable to the snakes’ venom and they would live. Many people did this and were saved, but some people refused to look at the snake and perished.
Like the Israelites, we have been bitten by a serpent, figuratively. Because the craftiest serpent, Satan, tempted Eve so long ago, sin entered the world. As a result, we are born infected with sin’s “venom.” We have a natural tendency to sin, and regardless of how good we try to act, it is impossible for us to fully meet the standard of holiness that is set forth in God’s perfect law. The only life-saving antidote is Christ’s death on the cross. Just as God, through Moses, asked the Israelites to look up to the brass serpent, Christ asks us to look to the cross and believe that He died for us and will save us. But so many people think that such things are foolish, and they would rather perish than to believe that their sin could be wiped away so “easily.” Rich made the point that sometimes, pride can keep a person from believing in the life-saving power of Christ’s death on the cross. He hypothesized that if we had been in the wilderness with the Israelites, certain ones of us may have argued with Moses, saying that looking at the serpent was too easy a solution. Rather than believe that it could be real, many of us would have refused to accept it. The same thing happens with Christ. People don’t believe that their sins have been completely forgiven by Christ because that solution is just too simple to be realistic. Unfortunately, in their stubbornness, those people end up missing out on the opportunity of eternal life and a life-sustaining relationship with God himself. Jesus draws the comparison between Moses and Himself in John 3:14-15: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” As the bronze serpent saved the Israelites from the vipers’ venom, Jesus’ death on the cross saves us from Satan’s (the infernal serpent’s) venom – sin.
Gazing at God – Another Invitation
At the very end of Sunday’s church service, Heather Hviding led us in a song about God’s love. Strumming her guitar, she sang of a love higher and broader than human love could ever be. The song was another plea, just in case people didn’t hear the plea in Rich’s message, for us to take the time to gaze at God. When beholding God results in a love like the one described in this song, it is hard to imagine not being willing to take at least one look.
His love is higher than the highest of mountains.
His love goes deeper than the deepest of seas.
His love, it stretches to the farthest horizon,
And His love . . . it reaches to me.
His love is stronger than the angels and demons.
His love, it keeps me in my life's darkest hour.
His love secures me on the pathway to heaven,
And His love . . . is my strength and power.
His love is sweeter than the sweetest of honey.
His love is better than the choicest of wine.
His love, it satisfies the deepest of hunger,
And His love . . . in Jesus, it's mine.
Scriptures Referenced in Sermon
Psalm 90:12-14
Acts 3:1-20
Numbers 21:6-9
John 3:14
Other Scriptures to Consider
Psalm 144:4
John 15:1-11
*I think it is ironic and a little funny that Moses is quoted as saying that man’s lifespan is seventy or eighty years at most because Moses himself lived to be approximately one hundred and twenty! :)
Heather, I am surpised that there are not more comments on this blog or previous. I have so enjoyed each one and hope that you are able to continue for a while to come. I thought you were a good singer, but your writing ability is amazing. You give so much in you explanations and comparisons and summaries, I get a whole different perception and much more insight to the sermon, so I have more to think about till the next service. Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Anonymous. :) It means a lot to me that you are reading this, and I am glad it is giving you "food for thought" between the weekly sermons.
ReplyDelete-Heather
Heather,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this. Good stuff - slithering serpents and all (yuk!). It's cool the way God is using you and your gift to write. Keep it up!
Heather Feather