Unlike God

He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. (Psalms 147:4 KJV)

Our Wednesday night study was on Theology Proper – the study of what God is like. This graphic was chosen because it shows a small portion of the Milky Way galaxy seen from one spot on a mid-sized planet. We cannot comprehend knowing the names of all the stars contained in just this one photo – yet God knows them, and every thing else that He created. He is omnipotent – knows and understands everything.

Unlike God, we don’t get it. At most, we get a very small portion of it and we don’t understand why people don’t understand what we do. Got that? Probably not. We don’t think alike, we don’t perceive alike, our knowledge base is not like any other person’s. Our memories are different, and our memories color every facet of our lives. Unlike God.

This particular Psalm is not prefaced as being written by King David, though it is a song of praise, and he was known for praising God:

Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. (Psalms 147:1 KJV)

We do that because we know quite a bit about God – that He is always there, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is not only omnipresent – so immense our minds cannot comprehend – He is also omnipotent:

Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:26-27 KJV)

Unlike God, we cannot achieve any of this. But – we can live by the virtues we see in Him. Ones we miss by a mile on so many occasions, but we need to continue pressing toward that mark of revealing His goodness through actions in our lives, showing love, grace and mercy.

The Rochester Family sings “Patching It Up” and it tells me several things, the first is:  I do get tired of patching things up; God doesn’t. Fortunately for us, He is not only willing but is able to flow love, grace and mercy through us – if we do not build walls to block them.

Unlike God, we can change.  We make the choices in our lives. He has given us the ability to choose whether or not His love is in us. He has given us the ability to share that love with others.

And, that’s we I have too often failed.

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8 KJV)

We are commanded who and how to love:

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40 KJV)

We are also told how to get help to do this:

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13 KJV)