Our God is BIG (and this post is LONG)!!  If you are wondering about the picture, it is a microscopic photo of a single mote (the technical term) of dust.  Have you ever watched the sunlight coming through a window and spotted a little speck of dust floating through the air?  If you’ve ever tried to catch it, it’s nearly impossible because the slightest breeze from your hand pushes it away.  Dust is made up of tiny particles of soil, pollen, fibers, human skin flakes, etc. and it has been the nemesis of many housekeepers over the years.  But for the most part, a speck of dust compared to us is very tiny and relatively inconsequential.  I have chosen the tininess of a mote of dust to illustrate how microscopically SMALL we are when compared to the GREATNESS of our God, but even this illustration falls short.  We can sense His presence as we sing “How Great Thou Art”, but if we could fully comprehend even a portion of His greatness for a second, we would lose our minds!  Yes, God has limited our understanding of Him for our own sanity.  God said in Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”  Psalm 143:3 says, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise, His greatness no one can fathom.”  These verses and many more that describe the complete “other-ness” of God are all through His Word, and yet we continually limit what WE think He is capable of doing.  As God asked Abraham in Genesis 14:6, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”   

But the greatness of God is not just in His infinite power or unlimited knowledge.  From Genesis to Revelation, His Word consistently testifies of His perfect character.  It tells us that God is holy, just, loving, patient, merciful, kind, and gracious toward His most valued creation…mankind.  Yes, the same God who spoke the universe into existence also created you, He knows you intimately, and He loves you.  God is indeed GREAT, but He is also very GOOD!  And the perfect expression of His greatness and goodness can be seen through His Son, Jesus Christ.    

How extraordinary is it that the same God Who created ALL things became flesh and blood and walked among us (John 1:1-3)?  Some have a hard time with this.  They ask, “How can a body of flesh and blood contain the glory and power of God?”; and “How could Jesus be 100% God and 100% man at the same time?”  Exactly!  We don’t know how, and we were not meant to, but an explanation may be found in the questions themselves.  The infinite power of Jesus being contained in fragile human flesh only serves to prove God’s limitless potential – that NOTHING is off-limits for Him – especially when the eternal destiny of man is at stake. 

You see, the Bible says that we are ALL sinners (Romans 3:23), and that we have chosen our own path away from God (Isaiah 53:6).  If there was no sin, we would still exist in perfect paradise with no pain, sickness, evil, or death (Genesis 1:31).  But unfortunately, because of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:6-7), we were all born with the sin nature and have willfully committed sin against God.  If you’ve ever lied, cheated, cussed, stolen, or broken any one of the ten commandments, you have sinned.  James 2:10 say of this “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”  What’s more, so ingrained is the sin nature that we cannot go one day without offending God, whether by commission or omission.  This makes us enemies of God (Romans 8:7), the punishment for which is death (Genesis 2:17); but not just physical death, spiritual death forever in a place separated from God’s presence called hell (Revelation 20:15).  Hell is described by Jesus as a place of tormenting flames and immense darkness, where the worm never dies (Matthew 8:12; Mark 9:48).  This all occurs because God is a perfect and just God Who cannot allow sin in His presence, and Who will not allow sin to go unpunished (Psalm 7:11).  If this were the end of the story, what a sad and depressing existence our life on earth would be.  Thank God this is NOT the end!  In eternity past, in God’s infinite foreknowledge, He saw the problem of our sin and separation from Him, and He solved the problem through His Son, Jesus Christ (Revelation 13:8).  Then, at the perfect time, He sent His one and only Son into the world to be our Messiah, our Savior.  2,000 years ago, God took upon Himself the form of human flesh by being born of a virgin (Luke 2).  Jesus grew up in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men (Luke 2:52) and in sinless perfection He did everything that His Father told Him to do (1 Peter 1:19).  He was baptized for our example and confirmed with a voice from the Father, which began His earthly ministry (Matthew 3:13-17).  As Jesus called His disciples, preached, taught, and performed many miracles, He verified His authority over temptation, demons, sickness, nature, death, and sin (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 5:17-26; Mark 4:35-41; John 11:1-44).  One would think the whole world would believe Him, but that was not the case.  Of all people, you would think the “religious people” would have welcomed Him, but in fact they hated Him.  Then, in the most shocking and selfless act in human history, Jesus allowed Himself to be betrayed and handed over to these wicked men, who cursed, beat, and crucified Him.  Hanging on that cross, Jesus bore the full weight of every sin since the beginning of the world (1 Corinthians 15:3); every single sin that you and I have committed or will commit was supernaturally placed upon the spotless Lamb of God.  The culminating point of His crucifixion was when His Heavenly Father, unable to look at His Son bearing the world’s sin, turned His back on Him (Matthew 27:46).  When His mission was complete, Jesus yelled “It is finished!” and He gave up His spirit (John 19:30).  But…three days later, early in the morning, Jesus defeated sin, death, Satan, hell, and the grave by being raised back to life (John 20:1-18)!  Jesus’ life after death, which was witnessed by hundreds (1 Corinthians 15:6), proves that everything He said and did was true! 

God has not only made us, but He has also done EVERYTHING necessary for us to be saved; saved from our sin; saved from death; and saved from eternal separation from Him in hell.  All that is necessary for us to be saved is to repent and believe (2 Corinthians 7:10; John 3:16).  Repent means to have a change of mind or a change of heart about our sin.  It means to do a 180-degree turn away FROM sin and TO Jesus, Who alone can forgive and make us whole (John 14:6).  To believe means we are fully convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for our sins, and that He arose the third day to make us a home in heaven (Romans 10:9,10).  More than that, belief means putting our full faith or TRUST in His completed work on the cross to secure our salvation, knowing there is nothing we can add to or take away from it.  It is wholly 100% by God’s grace that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8,9).  It is ALL of Him, and NONE of us! 

But here is the catch.  Salvation is just the beginning.  Jesus doesn’t just save us for us to remain the same.  He saves us to change us from the inside-out, so that we can be His hands, feet, and mouthpiece to the world (Matthew 28:18-20).  He has saved us and He calls us to be followers – disciples – of Him for the rest of our days (Matthew 7:24).  This call to obedience is a journey that will only end when we die or when He returns to get us (Acts 20:24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). 

If there was ever a question about the greatness of God: Jesus’ birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and life through His children should settle the issue.  This is not to speak of His ability even today to somehow weave ALL things – good, bad, and ugly – together for the good of His children and His glory (Romans 8:28).

Yes, our God is GREAT, GREATER than we could ever imagine!  And our God is most definitely GOOD, BETTER than anything this world can offer!  Praise Him today for Who He is and what He is doing, not doubting.  Steadfastly put your faith in His sovereign plan for your life day after day.  Even when it seems like He is not there, even when you cannot see His hand, you can trust His heart.  The God Who created you and saved you is the God Who will keep you, lead you, and guide you as you surrender to Him.