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Seek the things that are above!
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of
God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the
earth” (Colossians 3:1, 2).
Frederick Langbridge* wrote:
“Two men look out through the same bars:
One sees the mud, and one the stars.”
There is much mud, but one must look down to see it.
God encourages us to look up, to look up at the stars, to look
beyond the stars! We can behold God’s glory when we lift up
our eyes, when we lift up our souls, when we lift up our hands,
when we lift up our voices, and when we lift up our heads.
Lift up your eyes, and see who has created these things!
“It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its
inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the
heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to
dwell in. ... ‘To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I
be equal?’ says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high, and
see who has created these things, who brings out their host by
number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His
might and the strength of His power; not one is missing”
(Isaiah 40:22, 25, 26).
When someone perseveres in unbelief while seeing the
glories of creation, he is rejecting clear evidence for God: “For
since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without
excuse” (Romans 1:20).
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night
unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language
where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through
all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Psalm
19:1-4).
The more an unbeliever learns about the expanse of the
universe, the smaller he becomes from his own perspective.
Based on his own world view, a materialist is not even a
millionth of a speck of dust in the universe.
Belief in the theory of evolution is a form of nature
worship. God-like powers are attributed to nature. Evolutionists
believe that the forces of nature have created all things, even
man from the mud of the earth. This is ridiculous because
something like the universe, which had a beginning and will
have an end, cannot create itself. As Maria sings in The Sound
of Music, “Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could.”
The more a believer learns about the expanse of the
universe, the more he stands in awe of God, and the greater
his gratitude is for what God has given mankind.
Referring to the sun, moon and stars, we read in Genesis
1:17: “God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give
light on the earth.” Thus, the innumerable galaxies with their
innumerable stars are not without purpose. They were placed
in space and time to enlighten man!
People should not worship the sun, moon and stars
because God has given “the sun, the moon, and the stars, all
the host of heaven” “to all the peoples under the whole heaven
as a heritage” (Deuteronomy 4:19). God splashed the trillions
of stars into space as a gift to man, to give us a glimpse of His
mighty power and majesty. “For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My
thoughts than your thoughts,” says the Lord (Isaiah 55:9). “He has not dealt
with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our
iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so
great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:10,
11).
“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth
beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the
earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will
die in like manner; but My salvation will be forever, and My
righteousness will not be abolished” (Isaiah 51:6).
That the universe is ‘running down’ and eventually will
vanish away is a scientific observation. We observe that matter
and intelligence exist. What is the source of intelligence? We
observe that intelligence can create and that matter cannot
create. Matter cannot even create itself, let alone intelligence.
From these observations it is philosophically and
scientifically sound to “understand” that both matter and
intelligence had to be created by a higher intelligence.
The expansive, yet finite, material universe and the
intricate, yet finite, biosphere on earth had to originate from an
intelligence greater than our intelligence as the heavens are
higher than the earth.
Man’s amazing, yet limited intelligence could not be
auto-created by finite matter, any more than an intricate, yet
mindless computer could create itself. Only man, made in the
image of God, has sufficient creative power to produce a
computer. And computers are a collective creation of mankind.
One man can make a hammer by tying a stone to a stick, but
the design and construction of something as intricate and
complex as a computer requires the collective and co-operative
intelligence and work of thousands of men. The intricacy of a
computer is child’s play compared to the intricacy of life forms.
Matter cannot even create a computer, let alone man and the
universe!
God, not matter, is the Creator of all things. This is clearly
seen and understood from the things that are made.
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills
- From whence comes
my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven
and earth” (Psalm 121:1, 2).
“Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the
heavens” (Psalm 123:1).
Lift up your soul to God!
After lifting up our eyes and seeing the majesty of God in
His creation, we lift up our souls to God, we entrust our
spiritual well-being to His care.
“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in
You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over
me. ... Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my
salvation; on You I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:1, 2, 4, 5).
“Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for
in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should
walk, for
I lift up my soul to You” (Psalm 143:8).
“Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long.
Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for
to You, O Lord, I lift up my
soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and
abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. Give ear, O
Lord, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my
supplications” (Psalm 86:3-6).
We lift up our souls to God, we entrust our spirits to His
keeping. As was prayed by David in a Psalm and by Jesus on
the cross: “Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have
redeemed me, O LORD God of truth” (Psalm 31:5).
Lift up your hands in joyful prayers of praise!
“Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips
shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up
my hands in Your name. ... And my mouth shall praise You
with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:3, 4, 5).
When we lift up our eyes and see the glories of God’s
creation, and then lift up our souls to Him, we also lift up our
hands in prayer.
“Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You,
when
I lift up my hands
toward Your holy sanctuary” (Psalm
28:2).
Lift up your voice with strength!
“O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high
mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings,
lift up
your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the
cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’” (Isaiah 40:9).
This Messianic prophecy refers to the deity of Christ. Good
news of God’s salvation would be preached to all nations
beginning at Jerusalem. “Now it shall come to pass in the latter
days that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be
established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted
above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people
shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of
the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us
His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall
go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem”
(Isaiah 2:2, 3).
We must lift up our eyes and see the peoples of the earth
who are in urgent need of salvation. Jesus tells His followers:
“Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes
the harvest’? Behold, I say to you,
lift up your eyes and look at
the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35).
“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with
compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered,
like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples,
‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into
His harvest’” (Matthew 9:36-38).
We lift up our eyes and see the glory of God; we lift up
our souls to God and place them in His care; we lift up our
hands to God in prayer, and we lift up our voices to tell the
whole world about the glories of God and salvation through His
Son, Jesus Christ.
Look up and lift up your heads!
When Jesus returns most people will be terrified: “And the
kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the
commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man,
hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us
from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath
of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who
is able to stand?’” (Revelation 6:15-17).
God’s little flock, however, will not be afraid, but will
rejoice: “Now when these things begin to happen,
look up and
lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke
21:27, 28).
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of
God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the
earth” (Colossians 3:1, 2).
Let us look beyond the stars! Let us lift up our eyes and
see the glory of God in His creation, let us lift up our souls to
God and place them in His care, let us lift up our hands in
prayer, let us lift up our voices and tell the good news of
salvation by Christ to all the world. Then at His appearing to
judge the living and the dead, we can lift up our heads and
greet Him with joy, then we can be with Him forevermore.
Amen.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc.,
Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.
Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)
Footnote
* Frederick Langbridge (1849-1923) was a poet, novelist, dramatist and religious writer. He was born at Birmingham, England but was of Irish descent. He was educated at Oxford. He served as rector of St. John’s Cathedral in Limerick, Ireland. This quotation is from ‘A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts’ published by the Religious Tract Society.
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