5/27/2012

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

If our aim is to reach heaven, we need to understand that we are reaching upward. But don’t limit yourself to merely thinking of God and heaven as a physical location that is up. We must realize that in every conceivable way, God is ABOVE us. His ways and His thoughts are as far above ours “as the heavens are higher than the earth.” Obviously, our wisdom and power are less than His. But we really need to get a handle on the fact that God is the Sovereign Ruler of ALL of creation, including each one of us. He is the Creator; we are His creatures. He is the King; we are His subjects. He is far above us in every way.

HIERARCHY. This word does not resonate with our modern ears, but the concept of “hierarchy” is all around us. Everywhere we look, from the physical cosmos to the animal kingdom, creation is ordered in hierarchies and structured in ranks. Most people understand that this is necessary and beneficial. The fact that God and Christ “out rank” us, is not bad; it is good. We need to be aware of deity’s superiority.

HUMILITY. Without acknowledging the fact that God is above us and we are under His rule, we will be robbing ourselves of the benefits of His higher thoughts, and His beneficial ways. In all of our decisions, we need to YIELD to the infinitely greater wisdom that inheres in Him.

HAPPINESS. There are great benefits that flow from having the right attitude toward all that is around us. God intends for man to enjoy life (Eccl. 5:18; 9:9). Furthermore, the greatest happiness possible is that of taking our proper place in the scheme of God’s creation, gladly under His rule.

We need something superior to us to yearn for and to reach toward. We may suppose that independence and equality are sufficient. But what we really need is One in whose supremacy and sovereignty we may find rest for our soul. There is only one place where that is possible and that is in the benevolent rule of a King who is, as Paul wrote, eternal, immortal, and all-wise. To Him “be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17).

Ken Dart