Love and knowledge

Wednesday January 7, 2015

An old legend about the Titanic goes like this : a woman boarding the ship nervously asked a deckhand if the Titanic was truly unsinkable, to which he replied, "God Himself could not sink this ship."

A tragic outcome would later prove how wrong that statement was. But the man would not have been alone in his blunder, as some of the most brilliant minds of history have got things wron. For instance, Winston Churchill once proclaimed that war with Japan was impossible (it happened!).

Given that people can be so wrong in their assessments, it´s strange that we can sometimes live in such fear of them - as if others are not as fallible as we are. But Matthew 10 reminds us of the One who holds true authority and knowledge : God alone. He has authority not just over the physical body, but also over our very souls (v.28). His wisdom is comprehensive, and He knows even the number of hairs on our head (v.30). Like Job, we often spend too much time listening to the advice of our imperfect friends rather than the opinions of our almighty God.

In the same passage in Matthew, Jesus went on to say that not only are we known by God, but we´re valuable to Him (v.31). This reveals, as repeated elsewhere in Scripture, that the fear of the Lord isn´t opposition to His love. Proverbs 9:10 reminds us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and in Psalm 118:4 we read, "Let all who fear the Lord repeat : 'His faithful love endures forever.' "

So we should draw near to God, not just because He knows more tha anyone else, but also because He loves us so much more! - Peter Chin

Read 
Matthew 10:26-31
So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roots. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don´t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrow.

Psalm 139:13-18
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother´s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you 
When I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

Question to Ponder
Whose opinion or judgement do you listen to most in your life?
How can you know and listen more closely to the opinion and judgement of God?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue