Friday, August 27, 2010

SIN and God's omnipotence!

I am rereading "Crazy Love." As part of the discipleship program that my husband and I are doing with the youth we are having them read this sound book by Francis Chan. I am a huge Chan Fan (Yep, let's start a rhyme jam!). As I was looking over the two chapters for the week again I decided to reread the Biblical references that he makes in the chapters. Revelation 4, a profound revelation of the Throne in Heaven is what I was reading as Luk was eating breakfast. Logan was still asleep, which was great if I may add!
I figured I would read the passage aloud. I introduced the passage to Luk. John was exiled because the King couldn't kill John, and so he stays on Patmos to have this vision that God planned for His story. The role of John in this grand scheme of life is (in my eyes) enviable. Looking at it in this view as a mom, would I want to have to be "killed" no, however the fact that God gave him such a gift in seeing this is remarkable.
Anyways, setting made, Luk knows who is writing and where he is.
I begin reading (and in red I will put my explanations to Luk):

Revelation 4

The Throne in Heaven
 1After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said,  "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." You see, it is very hard for John to describe what God is like. He has no idea how to talk about Him. So, John says that God's voice sounds like trumpet.
2At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. God is beautiful, but John still has no idea how to describe, but he does so with the gems. Here is Jasper: 
Here is Carnelian:

Here is Emerald:


God is so awesome that he lets out these colors of red and green that John can't even describe him any other way.


4Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. Here is a piece of crystal.

 
   And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. Luk in your imagination picture these creatures with eyes all over them. They can see just how awesome God is. (Even though in Isaiah, we learn that with two sets of wings they cover their eyes. However since covered all over with eyes John makes it evident that they STILL see God's magnificence - this was a mom side note.) 8And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

   "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!"
I started singing the "Revelation Song"rendition of this, over and over again. I was telling Luk how they never stopped that they just kept doing this non-stop, and that as they sang the "old" people (referring to elders) would bow down and put their crowns at the seat of God's throne.
 9And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
 11 "Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
   to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
   and by your will they existed and were created."
Luk do you see why the worshiped God? Luk responded, "Because He is God." He was right, but as I told him. God is so much more than that isn't He. He is the Creator; he has always been here. He is the one that made us and everything! (For our human minds, we have to see that God is the creator, and that he was here before anyone else. He has always existed! I think we limit God. Well, I know we limit God when we worry. another mommy side note).

I thought that our conversation would keep going about God's glory and how we are to worship Him, but it didn't. Luk moved on with the conversation. He asked me about Jesus dying on the cross. I was telling him how God and Jesus are the same. That God is Jesus on earth. He did ask why God didn't just come down himself. I reminded him that God did with Moses and when he wanted. However, Jesus came as a baby being born. Jesus was that part of God needed so that we could and would be forgiven when we accepted what He did for us and ask that God forgive our sins. Then it came... WHAT IS SIN???

I referred to the Ten Commandments, that he knows really well. I talked about how if we lie, covet, kill, or disobey mommy and daddy those are all sins. He pipes up, "So, when I put treasures before God, that is a sin?" Yes. "If I think about my cereal and banana before thinking about God,  I am sinning?" Yes. Amazing. We are to honor and have God first in our minds while we eat, play, and rest.
The next questions was a bit of a surprise as he asked why Satan is bad? I explained to him how he was good and that he was an angel of the Lord. He was shocked to find this out. I told him how God had made Lucifer to be a high angel, but that he wanted more, (Luk chimes, "He was greedy!") and God kicked him out of Heaven and onto earth.

Needless to say, this conversation was just a small growth in what God has planned for Luk's life. As his mother, I pray I answered everything right, that Luk will know that God is eternal and greater/stronger/higher than any other/healer/awesome in power! Man, isn't that just too much to handle! It really is! No one is like Him!