HOW MAJESTIC IS YOUR NAME!
A number of years ago I was a pastor of a mission church, and I was doing some canvassing – just going door-to-door, introducing myself, seeing if the Holy Spirit might open up a door to me as I walked around. At one house, a man answered, and after learning that I was the pastor of a church, he smiled, and said, “I appreciate what you do, and I wish you well. To be honest with you, I probably will never come to your church, because I don’t think I need one.” Then he took me around to the back of his house, and showed me his backyard, and it was beautiful. He was a master gardener – there was a brick path that he had made, and that path wove its way through flowers and plants of ever color you ever could imagine. Beautiful.
“This is my church, he said. This is my Bible. If I want to know about God, I just come here.” What do you say to someone, when you hear that? Have you ever heard people say that? My fishing boat is my church. My tree stand is my Bible. That is where I learn about God. And I don’t need anything else.
It is true, that you can learn a lot about God by studying nature, studying science. Psalm 8 talks about that - how majestic is the name of God, the Psalm writer says, as he looks up to the heavens, the moon and the stars – the work of your fingers, he says. A scientist studies the sun, and realizes that the power in the sun is far above and beyond any human calculation. Whoever made that sun is more powerful than the sun - God must be incredibly powerful.
A scientist studies how the earth is placed in the solar system, at a perfect distance from the sun, and the moon. Not too close to the sun – it would be too hot. And not too far away from the sun – that would be too cold. And look at how all the life forms on the earth work together just so. And look at how complex the human body is – all of its different systems work just so. Whoever designed this must be incredibly wise.
And then the scientist observes how everything operates just so – the law of gravity is reliable, all the other laws of nature are reliable. Whoever designed all these laws and keeps them working must be someone who is extremely organized, very orderly.
Science reveals the power and wisdom and orderliness of God. But nature also reveals that something is wrong. Psalm 8 tells us that God placed human beings into this world to rule over “all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, to rule over 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” But something is wrong – that’s not how it is. The fall into sin has wreaked havoc on mankind’s relationship with this world. Now the human race struggles to rule over nature as God intended. Now animals kill humans. Humans kill humans. Even the tiniest virus can kill the strongest man. There are weeds, pests, natural disasters, and ultimately, each one of us dies of something. Yes, nature teaches us that God is great. But nature also teaches us that something is wrong. And as a scientist studies nature, the question is asked – why? Why is there something wrong? Why is there disease and death?
There are lots of questions that nature can’t answer. Where did the human race come from? Where did the world come from? What is the purpose of life? Why am I here? And what happens after I die? Then what? Nature raises a lot of questions. Where can you go to find the answers?
You can look all over the world – but only one place gives you those answers that you need, and that one place is the Bible. The Word of God. Why are there problems in the world? As Christians, we look into the Bible. We see the fall into sin. We see our own sin. We read passages like, “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God,” or “every inclination of mankind’s heart is only evil all the time.” The Bible tells us that the world is a mess. You and I are a mess. And the ultimate cause is our own sin.
But God has a solution, and he tells us that solution in his Word. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” The Holy Spirit reveals to us God’s grace in the Word. Jesus is the solution to that problem of sin in the world. In Psalm 8 it says that Jesus was made “a little lower than the heavenly beings.” God becomes a man. What an awesome thing to ponder – that the almighty God – the Son of God – who is so powerful that he made the sun, who is so wise that he made the world and the human body – that wise and powerful – that God who made everything we see – placed himself into the body of an infant, and was born as a human 2000 years ago. What an amazing thing to ponder – that the Son of God would become a man, for you and me.
But even more amazing, is what that Jesus was willing to do for us. Not only did he become a man, he became a sacrifice – that he who was perfect and holy would take upon himself all the sins of all mankind, that he would become sin, become a curse, for you and me. No one will ever be able fathom, at least on this side of heaven, this amazing love that God has for us, that he would love you and me so much that he would even die on a cross, as the sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
You can study nature your life and not learn that. You can climb mountains. You can go to the most beautiful fishing spots in the world. You can sit in the most peaceful woods in the world, waiting for that deer to arrive. You can become the most brilliant scientist in the world, and understand all the complex laws of nature. And as you do all those things, you’ll learn about God – that he is wise and powerful. But you’ll never find out about his grace until you read the Bible. There you find a God who is honest with you – he tells you that you are sinful. But there you also find a God that is loving toward you – he takes your sins away by sending his Son. Isn’t this really the true greatness of God?
Another comforting thing the Bible reveals is that Jesus is in control of all things. After he died, he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. And there, Psalm 8 tells us, God “crowned him with glory and honor. God made him king of this world in which we are living. The Psalm tells us that God the Father made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet. Isn’t it comforting to know that your Savior Jesus is in control of all things?
You can be sure that while you live in this world, Jesus will keep you safe, and he will work out all things in your life for something good. There are days, I’m sure, when you’ll wonder if God really loves you, days when things are difficult. But on those days, remember – this king who is in charge of this world, and in charge of your life – this powerful and wise King – also died on a cross for your sins. He must really love you, if he was willing to do that. Certainly he will work out whatever is happening in your life for something good.
So what do you say to someone who says, “I don’t need a church. I don’t need a Bible. My garden is my Bible. My fishing boat is my church. Everything I need to know about God can be found in nature.” What do you say? You can tell them, “You are missing the best part about God. Science teaches us that God is wise, and powerful. But the Bible teaches us God loves us. He died for you. He forgives you. He has a new heaven and a new earth – far better than where we live right now – waiting for you. Come to church with me, hear the Word with me, because I don’t want you to miss the best part about God. Amen.
