“For
with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.”
(Ecclesiastes 1:18)
Mankind
is exploring the moon when it has serious insurmountable difficulties to deal
with in its backyard. When God created the earth God requested Adam to dominate
(subdue) the earth where He had placed him. That instruction put a large chunk
on his plate to keep him occupied. Unfortunately, humanity is reaching out to
projects of prestige.
The
world is ridden with poverty, hunger, cruelty and wickedness, war-mongering and
‘loose’ living. The world knows no peace. World bodies have failed to bring the
much-needed relief to palliate the multiple threats to life on the planet. All
of this is compounded with hate crimes and racism. Everyone is fending for
himself, herself and family. Rarely do people think of the common good
nowadays.
Lust
and selfishness have become strongholds in the social fabric and determine the
kind of relationships we knit. Little regard is given to the person of God and
His Word. People have consciously and deliberately discarded God and in fact
have silenced Him in having a say in their daily occupations. To add insult to
injury, politics and politicians sway tendencies in favour of their own
agendas. Our Lord Jesus admonishes: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all
kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his
possessions.” (Luke 12:15)
The
claim that we live in a better world mirrors how far afield we are from
accomplishing God’s will and design for this world and the destiny for our
lives. The Bible sums this up in the words of the Apostle Paul: “For the wisdom
of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. “As it is written: ‘He catches the
wise in their craftiness;’ and again the Lord knows that the ways of the wise
are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:19-20)
The
world and its cravings place priority on things that do not last – on materials
things that lack substance in the realm of the living. King Solomon - the
richest and wisest man who ever lived - sums it up thus: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” ... “Utterly
meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) We focus on and
spend time with the least rewarding matters and yet feel good about it. Time is
of the essence. It is wise to value time as precious because it has become a
rare commodity in this busy world where we are all racing after everything
rather than prepare for eternity where we are going to spend the rest of our
lives.
As
prophet Noah was building the ark, he preached to the people to repent of their
ways but they gave no heed and qualified him as insane. This attitude grieved
God. “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that
every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”
(Genesis 6:5) He decided to wipe humanity from the face of the earth and start
all over again with the family of a righteous man. “For the foolishness of God
is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s
strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25)
God
is not distant. He is a living God; not ‘an absentee landlord’. He is forever
present and active. If we are unaware of His presence, it is because we have
not sought after Him enough. We have not made Him our priority, nor endeavoured
to nurture a relationship. Our daily preoccupations have blinded us from
hearing His voice and from sensing that He is there all the time.
The
world is insensitive to the shed blood of Jesus. Some advance: ‘Why should a
good father want to kill his son to atone for the sins of the world?’ ‘Why does
God put His son through such gruelling pain to save the lives of those who do
not even consider Him?’ These are some of the questions that constantly assail
our minds but which we have consciously chosen to brush aside. The Bible
teaches: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1
Corinthians 1:18)
These
notions and concepts are spiritually discerned. The mind of the intellectual is
inept in fathoming such truths. “The man without the Spirit does not accept the
things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and
he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1
Corinthians 2:14) It takes someone with child-like faith to believe without
questioning. At a time in Israel when every young female nursed the hope of
being chosen as the mother of the Messiah, the choice fell on Mary who was
betrothed to Joseph.
In
her search for better understanding—after the angel announced to her the
mystery birth -- she enquired of angel Gabriel who had broken the news to
her; “How can these things be?” In her
innocence, she wanted more complete information; it was not a question of
doubt.
How
I wish that we begin to question God with a view to hearing Him share with us
in no uncertain terms what His plans are rather than for us to want to second
guess His noble intentions He has for us.
All
what God does, has a purpose. Our duty is to find out the purpose and follow it
to the letter.
