“In that same hour [Jesus] rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” Luke 10:21
I love knowledge and I enjoy learning new things all the time, no matter the topic or subject, and I have especially taken a keen interest in science and understanding how the world works. Every time I learn something new I take a step back and I’m left in awe of Who God is and His creative power displayed by the universe. My dad is a retired carpenter who has the ability to create whatever is in his mind out of the objects and tools around him. I remember summers as a kid going to work with my dad and watching him transform rooms in houses to something totally different than before or watching him build additions and making it look as if that room existed with the house all along. I was (and still am!) enamored with the vast knowledge and experience that he could draw from to do what he did.
That same sense of awe that I have for my dad and what he makes is the same feeling I get when I look up at the night sky. One of my favorite pictures is the Hubble Telescope Deep Field Image. I first saw the image when I was in California last August and my brother took my parents and I to the Griffith Observatory outside of Los Angeles. On their largest wall they display the image and it is just breath taking. Astrophysicists pointed the telescope at an area of the night sky that seemed void of stars, an area about the size of a thumbnail, and they left the exposure open for about 2 weeks. The result is this picture provided by NASA. What we see is hundreds and hundreds of galaxies with billions of stars each. I look at that picture and I am just in childlike wonder at the power of God.
So why the verse? Why this post? Because so easily I allow the worries of this world to overtake me and I lose my childlike sense of wonder about God. I become consumed with deadlines, work, finances, studying, writing lessons and posts, and various other things. I get exhausted and I forget to look up at the night sky. I sometimes lose sight of the God we serve and just how HUGE He really is. I forget that this same powerful God loves us, cares for us, and personally knows us. I forget that this same powerful God longs and desires for us to spend time with Him and to simply rest in Him. God, the creator of everything, did not just create and abandon us; He created us and then lovingly called out to us and rescued us from our sin.
“But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to [Jesus] and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:40-42
Mary took the opportunity, amidst the chaos and confusion of trying to serve guests, to simply rest at the feet of Jesus. She allowed her childlike wonder of Christ to cause her to rest and just listen to The Lord teach. It wasn’t something to check off, it wasn’t part of a to-do list; it was just a simple act of worship: rest.
I remember waiting in agony as a child for Christmas to arrive. I remember Christmas Eve, forcing myself to try and sleep so that Christmas morning would come sooner and there would be presents under the tree. Do I approach God like that? Or do I try so hard to be counted among the wise and arrogant of this world, consumed with my knowledge? I am not in any way suggesting that we somehow turn off our minds when we come to God. Wisdom is a good thing and should be sought after (see Proverbs), but we should be extremely cautious about elevating the gift of wisdom above the Giver. At the foot of the cross everyone is equal; awards, accolades, degrees, titles, and accomplishments mean nothing. The only thing that matters is the One whom we are worshipping. God calls to us as children, not so we’ll believe anything, but that we would not come consumed with our self and our worries. Rather, we should come to Him as children on Christmas morning, excited and bounding with joy because we get to spend time with the Creator who loves us.
“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
-G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
Soli Deo Gloria,
Brian Ceely
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Brian Ceely
is a researcher for Wycliffe Bible Translators, a College Age/Young Adult Minister at River Run Christian Church, and a very talented musician (specifically drums and guitar). He enjoys reading, writing, researching, philosophy, apologetics, playing drums like a crazy man and sharing the person and work of Jesus with young adults. Brian is also a regular at Starbucks and uses his many talents to bring glory to his God and Savior Jesus Christ.
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