God is…God is…hmmm…
God is supreme, holy, powerful, just, gracious, merciful and so much more. Honestly I could go on all day every day trying to sum up God and even then my words would be inadequate. I have trouble finding the right words to express the emotions or thoughts I have. Don’t even get me to try to explain doing some technical work or describe the procedures I followed in completing some tedious project. I’m not gonna be a lot of help to you in this endeavor and much less help trying to define God. I don’t sweat it though, cause I know I’m not alone.
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This past week I had the opportunity to travel to Nashville and lead the worship gatherings at David Lipscomb University. The journey was made even sweeter with my wife and children by my side. And better still my father, mother and sister from Georgia came to share in the moment. It has been one of the highlights of my life in ministry and it’s all due to one thing: togetherness.
There was great singing, fellowship, shared meals and reminiscing in Nashville, but every one of these things was enhanced because I shared these moments with family and fellow believers in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Thinking back on my life, the moments I remember fondest are almost all about my experiences growing up in The Church. Whether the occasion was a picnic, softball game, men’s retreat or youth conferences, times spent with my brothers and sisters in Christ have been some of the highlights of my life. Lipscomb University’s Summer Celebration is another one of those moments I will cherish.
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Jerry Seinfeld has the most amazing stand up comedy routine about growing up. For kids everything is about “up”! Wherever their children you can be sure to hear these phases: “Wait up”, “hold up”, and when answering parents about going to school, “I’m up, I’m up!” But for parents and guardians everything is about “down”! In any place where parents and children are together you will certainly hear these phrases: “Slow down!”, “Sit down”, “calm down”, and for the manic kid in the bunch a very firm, “settle down!”
Growing up is hard! From the time that I was a child I sang an oft gleeful but at times mournful refrain, “I can’t wait till I grow up.” Oh, you know this song too! When a person is young it seems that all they can think of is the day when they will become a grown up and free from all rules and entanglements. Honestly, who wants a bowl of fruit when there’s a bowl filled with candy?
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This Sunday will be one month from the latest perilous trial in my life. This last month has renewed my trust in God as protector and provider. It has also made me think more and ask all sorts of questions. Is it really possible that a few, tiny, seemingly insignificant moments could result in the saving of a life? Are all the seemingly random conversations and actions connected? Could it be that all the moments of our lives come together forming a tapestry and narrative so much more grand than their individual parts? I think so. Here’s the reason why.
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“All my hopes, all I need held in your hands…all my life, all of me held in Your hands.”
The preceding line is from one of my favorite new songs. It is a song about the sovereignty of God. It serves as a reminder that God is in control of everything in His creation. It is also an invitation to surrender control to Him over what we hold on to tighter than anything else, our lives. Even though at times this can be a struggle, I’m encouraged to know that when we surrender control of our lives to the sovereign God we can be assured that we will find real life, a Zoe life.
Zoe actually means life but it is more than a generic existence. It carries with it that there is a particular quality of life or living that far surpasses a mundane existence. It carries with it the idea of an abundant and blessed life that is connected to the life of God. Zoe is life not simply to the full but overflowing – life from God.
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