Tuesday Reflection- December 7, 2021

God is alive and active in the world

God issued a warning to Israel. They were to remember that they were called to be separate from the other nations around them. The practice of sacrificing to idols and following horoscope was not their custom or way. Those customs followed by other nations of the world were false. God called Israel to understand that the gods of the other nations were made by human hands and were therefore susceptible to being destroyed by the same human action that made them. If they were man-made, then they are powerless, unable to do anything supernatural like Israel’s God, like our God. Today’s watchword is a call to recognition of the power of God to create and sustain life. The Lord made the earth by his power, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. Jeremiah 10: 12

Unlike the gods of the Babylonians, Israel’s God was alive and active in the world. This movement of God began with the creation of the world. The text is a reminder that the world did not just appear out of nowhere. Genesis tells us that God spoke and it came to be. The world was intricately designed by God and has been kept by God’s grace and power throughout the years. This speaks of God being alive and active in the world. The continuous action of procreation, growth and development in the world is evidence of God’s presence. The intricacy of the earth’s and indeed the universe’s design speaks of divine intelligence at work and not a random coming together.

To say that God is alive and active is to know that God is with us in the world today. This is seen in the prophetic voice of Isaiah 7: 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel. Matthew 1: 23 translates Immanuel to mean ‘God with us’. If God is with us in the world, his presence is not an unconcerned or impassive one, but a living, active presence. What does that presence mean for us? In Hebrews 4: 15 Paul speaks of Jesus: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Through Jesus, God has showed us how to be true to Him. Let us trust that the God who creates, who sustains and who came in Jesus Christ bringing redemption to humanity, knows what we are experiencing and is alive and active in His continued work to sustain His creation. He will do what none other can for He alone is God. Amen.