The Weekly Encourager – July 21, 2016 – A Grand God

A few years back, our family took a grand trip to the Grand Canyon. Due to the circumstances of our flights, we had to land in Las Vegas and spend an afternoon and evening there before heading out to the Grand Canyon National Park the next morning. Now, I apologize to anyone who loves Vegas, but Dave and I had already been there and we had no particular desire to see it again. However, our school-age sons had never seen it, so we used it as a teaching opportunity for them. Strolling “sin city” at night, our family saw all the glitz and glamour man can create (lights, tall buildings, fountains, music, shows, etc.), as well as some of the consequences of man's sin (24/7 gambling, drunkenness, pornography, strip clubs, prostitution, etc.). Truly we saw a modern-day Babel: the pursuit of pleasure apart from God.

By contrast, the Grand Canyon was amazing in its purity, beauty, majesty, and scale. Standing on the South Rim for the first time and looking across 10 miles to the North Rim was literally incredible. The view was so distant yet so perfect that it seemed impossible! My mind told me I was looking at a painted backdrop or a computer-generated image such as those used in science fiction movies to convey things that are well beyond the scope of what can be done in a film studio. You can be sure that we pointed out to our boys the contrast between what man can make and what God can make.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with pleasure. [After all, I'm on vacation as I write this.] The Lord created us to need regular rest; fun is great in its proper place. The danger is that, as sinners, we are prone to pursue personal pleasure above all else. We want to have faith in God only as it forwards our own agenda of happiness. We want to make God serve us, instead of being content to serve Him. If we don't like God's laws, we're tempted to ignore them. If God doesn't bring us what we want when and how we want it, we're tempted to lose faith. We are an impatient people. And we're a building people. We're good at building golden towers and hanging bright neon lights on them. We're good at flashy shows of flesh. We build walls between us and the Lord, and then we're surprised when those walls keep out people, too. We seem to know instinctively how to hide our hearts. But they still hurt.

Where are you building your home – in the city of excess or the land of excellence? The Grand Canyon is awesome; I encourage everyone to see it. You will be changed. But much more important, see the grandeur of God in contrast to the pleasures of this world. Size matters. The true God who created heaven and earth is so grand that, at first glance, He seems “too good to be true.” All the science fiction and fantasy and romance and action movies in the world could not come close to how vast He is, how shining with true light, how perfect in wisdom, how powerful in ability. The best stories are the ones that tap into our deep human need for something grander than ourselves, something higher, something heroic.

I keep coming back to this passage in Isaiah 55: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him.” No matter how far we have fallen or how deep we are buried, the Lord is there. He loved us while we were dead in sin, so His grace is big enough to handle it. He is real, He is able, and He loves us. His plan is far greater than ours. Following Him is a grand journey that will lead us to some amazing places. We just need to ask Him to show us the view.

Let us worship this grand God!
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