"Missions is less about the transportation of God from one place to another and more about the identification of a God who is already there. It is almost as if being a good missionary means having really good eyesight. Or maybe it means teaching people to use their eyes to see things that have always been there; they just didn't realize it. You see God where others don't. And then you point him out."
God is everywhere and His presence is felt everywhere. This is a theme echoed all throughout the Bible. I'm going to list just a couple of examples, but the Psalms are full of this theme.
Isaiah 6:3
And one called to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!"
Genesis 28:16
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said "Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it."
Romans 1:20
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
God is everywhere. His glory fills the earth. His attributes, power, and divine nature have been made clear to us. All of this reminds of C.S. Lewis' essay Transposition which argues that as Christians we recognize a higher power that cannot be understood by someone who hasn't experienced it. In the same way that if an orchestra piece is transposed to piano and someone who hasn't experienced the orchestral arrangement only hears the piano piece doesn't recognize that it comes from something much bigger and better.
Our job as Christians no matter where we are is to spread the gospel. That is what the Great Commission states. So if that is our job then we should point out the glory of God that is looming before us everywhere. Paul does this in Lystra when he is preaching to the people about the living God that is quite obviously present in their society.
Acts 14:15-17
"Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in the. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness."
God is big. He is everywhere. He is alive. He provides. He does more than we can imagine...He is God. He even interacts with people that don't believe in Him. We cannot even begin to understand the mystery of God, but as we attempt to we get closer to the truth and even deeper in mystery.
Genesis 1:31
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
1 Timothy 4:4-5
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Everything God made is good and it points to Him. Let's give glory to God by acknowledging that he is the source of beauty and truth and let's point people towards that.
God is big. I am amazed by the mystery more and more everyday.
si si, Dio es bueno. I am glad I am where I am because I believe God didn´t bring me here to ´change anything´ but to change myself, to deepen my faith, and in doing so reaching out to others. Hardly any Uruguayan is a Christian, the people that go to my church are mostly from other countries. In Uruguay most people look to really stange gods, like a god of the sea from Africa. And the people who say they are ´religious´are mostly mormons. But it´s neat to see that God is in it all. He has been more than faithful to me in just the few day´s i´ve been here. Our job is to not change people, that´s God´s, it´s to do everything in our power and through the Holy Spirit to be faithful to Him. He´ll do the rest.
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