One would
think that the passengers of a British Airways flight that landed
in Edinburgh,
Scotland last week should have been happy.
Their flight left London on time.
The crew did their jobs well.
The
airplane functioned properly. It
was
completely uneventful except for one detail: They were supposed to
be in
Dusseldorf, Germany! Somehow
an
incorrect flight plan was filed and so the crew flew the plane to
the wrong
place.
When
you
can get all the small details right, but miss a big one, you have
a real problem!
Churches
can make a similar mistake when we focus on small details and lose
sight of the
big truths. Therefore, in
an effort to
make sure that we are on the right flight path, let me underline
three things
that God says about himself.
“God
is
Love” (1 John 4:7-21). If
we get this
part wrong, we lose everything else. Every thought that you have
about God must go
through the filter that says, “Whatever is happening, even if it
does not look
good now, is for my benefit”. Never
doubt that God wants the best for you and that, if you continue to
walk with
him, he can work everything out (Romans 8:28).
“God
is
light” (1 John 1:1-7). Light
is
revealing and joyful. House
hunters
never say, “I want something really dark and dingy!” Rather, everyone looks for
homes that are
bright and full of light. Light
is powerful
and life bringing. As we
reflect God’s
light, we become a light to others (Matthew 5:14) and that makes a
difference
in a dark world.
“God
is
a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29).
You may be tempted to overlook this quality or even remove
it from the
list. However, this too is
good
news. This tells us that,
in the end, God
will deal with the darkness and the wrong that has been done. In other words, I do not have
to even all the
scores, or get revenge. In
fact, that is
not even my job (Romans 12:19). Good
thing, too, because I would make a mess of it anyway.
We
a
need a clear picture of God, so that our faith does not go off
course.
And,
if
you are ever confused, look at Jesus. After all, he said, “Anyone
who has seen me
has seen the father!” (John 14:9).
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