A PASSION FOR THE UNKNOWN GOD

“And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’”
‭‭(Exodus‬ ‭33:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

Moses’ desire to see and know God is a common trait of the human race to some degree or another.  We are born with an understanding that there is something—someone—above and beyond us.

This is because humans were made in the image of God, and thus, created to experience communion with God.  Of all created things, man alone has the capacity to walk in fellowship with God.  Even though sin has marred that image and misdirected our desire, it remains a fact that we crave God. There is a God-shaped vacuum in our soul that only He can fill.  Consider Paul’s encounter with the pagan culture of Athens.

“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” (Acts 17:22-28).

Yet, our search leads down a detour to a dead end because of sin.  We grope along in darkness to find God and when we can’t we make a god in our image.  The warped deities of the Greeks—and other religions—were full of jealousy, anger, violence, and immorality.  Failing to find God who made us in His image, we make a god in our own.

Let us seek to know the True and Living God who will reveal Himself to us, and will fill that God-sized hole in our soul.

MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE TO REFLECT HIS GLORY

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made….  (Psalm 139:14a)

We are created in the image of God to reflect His glory.  There are attributes of God we can share.  These include: love, righteousness, and veracity.  Other attributes are excusive to God alone.  Some of these are His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence.  In all that God is, humans are created in His image to glorify Him.  That is what the psalmist leads us to do in Psalm 139.

We glorify God in His omniscience (v.1-6).  God is all-knowing. He is never surprised, caught off guard, or startled in the least.  Every eventuality is planned out.  All His purposes are mapped out.  None can thwart Him.  God knows our deeds before we do them (v.1-2a).  God is acquainted with our every activity.  He knows our thoughts before we think them (v.2b).  He knows more than our activity; He knows our attitude—not just what we do, but why we do it.  God knows our steps before we take them and knows our days before we live them (v.3).  God knows our words before we speak them (v.4). He hears every word—even if whispered.  God puts a hedge of protection about us—to keep His sheep from straying and to keep predators away (v.5)!  His strong, but gentle hand rests upon us.  How can we grasp a God so great? He is beyond our imagination and vocabulary (v.6)!  It is remarkable how He who knows us best, loves us most!

We glorify God in His omnipresence (v.7-12).  God is ever-present.  If we go to the highest point—heaven—God is there (v.7-8). If we go to the lowest point—sheol—God is there.  In heaven, the face of God is our happiness, but in hell, the face of God is our horror!  An inescapable date with judgment is fixed.  If I go to the east (the wings of the morning where the sun rises) or to the west (the Mediterranean Sea as located in reference to Israel where the sun sets), God is there (v.9-10).  God has promised to never leave us, nor forsake us.  Nothing obscures his vision (v.11-12).  God sees the tears on the saint’s pillow and transgressions sinners seek to conceal.  Secret sin on earth is open scandal in heaven.

We glorify God in His omnipotence (v.13-18).  He is all-powerful.  Our organs are designed by Him—the incredible functions of the body’s systems (v.13-14).  Every life is a special creation of God.  Only God can do this. God is like a weaver pulling the threads together.  Even when we were but a few cells forming, God saw us and mapped out our DNA (v.15-16).  Ultrasound may not have detected us, but God knew all about us. The lowest parts of the earth is symbolic language to describe how God formed us in secret—as a precious gem formed and then “mined.”  Even the number of our days is predetermined.  Isn’t it astonishing that the great God would condescend to give such individual attention to the least among us (v.17-18)?  God’s grace is boundless!  It is as constant as His moment by moment care.  Every day, when we awake it is a gift from God.

Because God knows all, is always there, and has total power, He is the only One qualified to judge people (v.19-24).  He is holy.  What is expressed here by the psalmist is righteous indignation, calling upon God to magnify His holiness.  Let us pray for God to remove our sins and stresses.