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God is real. God has spoken. We must listen.
Mel Lawrenz
The
so-called “special revelation” that God gives includes Jesus Christ himself,
the Word that was from the beginning and was with God and was God.
Jesus put it this way: “If you have seen me you
have seen the Father.”
The
other major example of special revelation is the word of God in Scripture, the
living testimony of truth given through people with the special calling of
prophets and apostles.
This is the way the book of Hebrews puts it: “In
the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets in many and various
ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed
heir of all things and through whom he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
The
salient points are simple: God is real. God has spoken. We must listen.
We
could philosophize about who God could be, and settle on the alternatives that
seem most reasonable, but if God has spoken in the revealed word and in the
Word made flesh, then doesn’t all other knowledge about him move to the margins
of the page?
The
fingerprints of God may be evident in a spiral galaxy, in the wildflower petals
of an Indian Paintbrush, and in the spiritual impulses that we experience, but
what are fingerprints compared to Voice and Face?
Give
me the galaxies, for sure, but I will be able to know and adore and love a God
who actually speaks.
There is a kind of “general revelation,” which the
apostle Paul talks about in Romans when he writes, “Since the creation of
the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have
been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20).
These
and other biblical passages say that we as human beings have plenty of evidence
that God exists and that he is powerful and superlative and beautiful as
designer of the universe.
But
apparently this is not enough. Human beings easily turn away from the mere
fingerprints of God with indifference.
A
fingerprint doesn’t call out to you, it can’t lead your life, and it does not
embrace you when you need to be comforted.
So,
God spoke. He revealed. He pulled back the curtain, uncovering what was
shrouded (“revelation” in the Bible means “an uncovering”).
He
spoke from heaven (that is, his realm of existence), but not by taking us up a
ladder to heaven, but by extending heaven to earth in the person of Jesus.
Bible Gateway has been blessed
by our partnership with pastor and author Mel Lawrenz, who writes the Everything
New and Christmas Joy devotionals. Over the last year, Mel has
written many thought-provoking, challenging, and encouraging devotionals.
Here’s one of our favorites, followed by links to four others well worth
reading.
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