TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH NOT ‘TIL DEATH DO US PART BUT NEVER TO PART
Perhaps you and yours, like me and mine, included in your wedding vows the traditional pledge to love and to cherish ‘til death do us part. We really meant it! We never gave it a second thought! And what we vowed then we vow now, with one major tweak: to love and to cherish but never to part! For you see:
We believe in God with all our heart and soul and mind, we believe in Jesus’ promise to prepare a place for all who belong to Him, and we therefore are of the belief that, since we belong to Jesus, we shall be together for eternity, even though there will be a pause - the cause of which will be the death of a physical body . . .
A major reason why we cling to our belief in “forever together” even if in a different type of relationship, is the trustworthiness of God our Father’s pledge to His children, to the Family of God, to love and to cherish His new creation – both now and forevermore!
In this final session of our series on Finding Our Value in God, we turn to the 8th Psalm entitled The Majesty of God. According to his memoirs, it was the reading of this particular psalm that inspired Dwight D. Eisenhower to write down his view of the reality of a Deity and who, he concluded, that Deity is:
“It takes no brains to be an atheist. Any stupid person can deny the existence of a supernatural power because man’s physical senses cannot detect it. But there cannot be ignored the influence of conscience, the respect we feel for moral law, the mystery of first life, or the marvelous order in which the universe moves about us on this earth. All these are the evidence of the handiwork of God. For my part, that Deity is the God of the Bible and of Jesus Christ, His Son.” I always did like Ike!
The focus of the 8th Psalm is primarily on the weakest of those who belong to God’s Family (“the least of these”) – Psalm 8:1-2 . . .
The psalmist’s proposition is simple and easy to grasp; and that is, even the weakest members of the Body of Christ . . . Church . . . Fellowship of Believers . . . God’s Family are cause for celebration . . . considered special . . . created divinely as we are told in Genesis: “And the LORD God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let him (them) rule over’” all the rest of creation.
Thus, how important, how valuable, how cherished all are in God’s eyes! And THAT no one can deny - no evolutionist . . . no atheist . . . no agnostic! For the day is coming when: “. . . at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father!”
Upon memorizing this psalm, Charles Wesley said he was so struck by the realization that the human race was not an accident . . .we were planned . . . we have purpose . . . we have value, he was moved by the Spirit of God to pen those beautiful words of the hymn “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” – with an ending that excites a believer’s imagination: “changed from glory into glory ‘til in heaven we take our place, ‘til we cast our crowns before Thee, lost in wonder, love and praise!”
Even the weakest parts of God’s creation remind us that God’s glory fills the world with the wonders we can see . . . stills the enemies of God . . . thrills poets, philosophers, prophets, professing believers and professors of theology alike - all because of the magnificence of God’s creative workmanship and the majesty of God’s very being - like no other power in all the world or universe – Psalm 8:3-8 . . .
Dr. Jack Hayford whose television ministry of many years originated from the Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California, told of touring England; moved by the deep feeling of the British people for their royal family - who stood with them through the darkest as well as the brightest days of their lives – Hayford felt overwhelmed by the thought that Christ wants His followers to have such a sense of loyalty to the Kingdom of God.
One word kept popping up in Hayford’s mind - “majesty”! Right then and there he wrote the words to a song that Christians love to sing:
“Majesty, worship His majesty, Unto Jesus be glory, honor and praise. Majesty, kingdom authority, Flow from his throne, unto His own, His anthem raise.
“So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus. Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King. Majesty, worship His majesty, Jesus who died, now glorified, King of all kings.”
God’s majesty is seen in the Heavens He created! Honesty and integrity have compelled many scientists through the years to acknowledge His majesty.
The astronomer Kepler was troubled by one of his friends who denied the existence of God and held the view that the universe came into being of itself . . . by chance . . . by accident of nature - as someone has dubbed this view, “From Goo to You by Way of the Zoo”.
In order to convince his friend, Kepler constructed a model of the sun with the planets circling round it. When his friend came into his observatory and saw such a unique model, he exclaimed with delight, “How wonderful this is! Who made it?”
And Kepler answered, “No one made it. It made itself.” His friend laughed and said, “Nonsense, tell me who made it.” Kepler replied, “My friend, you say that this little toy could not make itself. And I say, it is but a weak imitation of this great universe which I understood you to say did make itself.”
God’s majesty is seen in the Humans He created! Every human being is considered special by the Lord God our Creator who cherishes us and therefore has committed to us to the task of bringing honor and glory to His Name.
We do so by our forthright acceptance and faithful administration of the tasks and blessings which He has bestowed on us.
There is no logic nor is there legitimacy to be found in denying the creative design of a human brain and body. God the author of life ordained the sanctity of every human life – unborn, infant, teenager, adult, special needs folks who are as precious in His sight as are the most gifted among us. The intrinsic value of human life applies to one and all.
We may feel insignificant when we look at the vastness of the heavens and the giftedness of some versus others, but all you have to do is look into the faces and perceive the innocence of little children . . . to grasp the significance of that phrase of praise, “You made me a little lower than the angelic beings of heaven!” Folks: Stay that way!
The Theologian Allen Webster interprets this phrase with a contrast worth repeating: “Evolution sees man as one step above apes. Scripture sees him as one step beneath angels.”
God’s majesty is seen when you look in the mirror! When you look and see a reflection of yourself, you’re looking at a person of great value to God, someone who is cherished by Him. So, why not say to yourself:
“Self, you were created in the image of the LORD God who loves you . . . who redeems you . . . whose Spirit resides within you. Therefore, you are a very important person! You are somebody!” (Say to someone, “I am somebody!”)
As he grew up, one of my sons wrestled with the issue of self-esteem - small of stature, looked different from the rest of us, unsure of his role in the family. One of the things I did to help change his thinking was to place in his room the poster of a little boy wearing coveralls, one of the straps hanging down, sitting on the end of a pier - fishing.
The caption read: “I know I’m special ‘cause God don’t make no junk!”
Don’t you know that you are special? If not, I’m telling you now. God does not have a hierarchy of importance. Everyone is precious in His sight. Remember:
According to God’s plan you were brought into this world, by His grace you have been redeemed, by His presence you are being reassured every day of your life, and by His power you will receive the greatest blessing of all: You will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
“O Lord our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth!” Amen.
