Incomprehensible Immensity and Glory

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament shows His handiwork.”  Psalm 19:1

For 80+ centuries (however long it has been), man has examined the universe, his home, but in this last century alone, his knowledge has expanded explosively into an immensity of incomprehensible proportion. Whether through stupendous advances in microscopes, or, in the opposite direction, in telescopes, we search out the infinite intricacy of the cellular makeup and DNA of our world, or, on the other hand, the equally infinite stretches of an unending universe; we cannot reach its end. The unfathomable intricacies of the internal makeup of all living or inanimate things and the equally boundless, unending stretches of outer space, galaxies, planets and stars, are far beyond the human eye or imagination. You cannot contemplate the vastness of what is, and consequently its Creator.

You can do several things with such knowledge: one, ignore it; two, not attribute it to its Maker, but unaccountably to the machinations of infinite time and sheer impossibility of chance; or three, acknowledge this Creator God, whose glory so astounds that you fall before Him in adoration, thanksgiving, and absolute obedience. The glory of this Great God is simply beyond all measure, mind, or emotion.

Yet our fallenness obscures His glory from your eyes; this obscurity exaggerates your importance and concerns far beyond the truth of what is. When you fail to see and contemplate the glory of God, your world shrinks to primarily the proportion of one, and possibly a few more closely related to you: children, family, a few close friends, but primarily, in your perspective, you are the sun of your own galaxy, and all others and things of your life orbit around you. When, if you truly saw and understood the glory of God, you and the things of your life would orbit around God. He would, as John the Baptist said of Jesus, increase, while you and your own importance would decrease.

It is hard for you not to see your own importance as paramount, and instead to let the glory of God become the energy of your being: your motivator, your every goal, your delight. If His glory were paramount, your life would be literally transformed. All nature, every sight, every thought, would cause you to think continually, “I serve and worship a God of immense glory and, what is more, He loves ME.” His word, His direction, His greatness ought to be the chief influence of who I am, what I think, what I see, what I love, what I do. God’s glory consumes me.

The contemplation of God and His glory should be the chief focus of your mind and activity. You can do this as you go about the legitimate responsibilities of your life, fulfilling any role in which He has called you to serve. It is a way of thinking, perceiving, choosing, doing. He, not you, is the sun of your life. He determines the course which you take. It is a constant life discipline to ensure His increase and your decrease, for human nature normally works in the opposite direction.

From the right perspective, everything we see in our world every day reveals the glory of God; from the false perspective, it reveals your glory. Your glory is a dead-end street. The glory of God is a never-ending journey of immense possibility for your eternity. It begins here and now. It is not restricted to your life beyond the grave, nor can it be. Do not put it off until then. Let the glory of the Eternal God sweep you off your feet… today.

“Mighty God, while angels bless Thee, may a mortal sing Your name? LORD of men as well as angels, Thou art every creature’s theme. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.”

(1st verse of Robert Robinson’s hymn, “Mighty God, While Angels Bless Thee,” 1774)