Sanity: Existence

Jesus answers big questions with small answers.

When the crowd of thousands came before him hungry and tired and the disciples asked for his guidance, his answer was a small boy’s lunch. When the world was set to be destroyed, Noah survived by building a boat. When people broke their backs trying to follow the law, Christ said there really is only two that matter.

It is so easy for us to get lost and troubled before the bigness of life’s problems. It is so natural to desire the bigger picture, even if that bigger picture is destined to scare you into submission. We dream big dreams, build big cities and set enormous goals. And that is all good.

But isn’t it ironic that some of the smallest creatures in existence strive for bigness; and the biggest thing that is, which is God, loves to work in smallness. Of course the opposites are true, but that shouldn’t surprise us because that is exactly what should be happening. Small things should work in small ways and big things in big ways. Yet God flips that, like he does with so many other things, and delicately lays before us a work of art that our eyes attempt to fully survey.

In Charnock’s book the first attribute of God he tackles is God’s existence. He wasn’t one for beating around the bush. Charnock also saw that every attribute relied upon this, again as obvious as that may be we take it for granted. God is only merciful because he exists, he can only love us because he is indeed alive, and he reigns supreme because his glory actually does fill the heavens. 

The existence of God is one of those big questions. Existence itself, just the word even, should boggle our minds. But rather than get caught up in the overwhelming bigness we have to take a note from Jesus and answer the problem from the small approach. I exist, well because I see my hand in front of me. I feel it tapping each key and responding to the current of thoughts running to it through electrical pulses. My hand doesn’t define my existence, but it is a part of it.

Likewise, in the book of Job when God reveals himself at the end of the book. A flurry of trials, questions, and arguments have been laid upon this godly man and now when God finally shows up the reader is caught off guard. We expect huge answers with cosmic consequences, but instead God spends his time talking about nature and animals. He says look at them…look at them and know that I am God. 

So I can know God by looking at a tree? Yes! Even though so many people have gotten this wrong and mistake the tree for a god, or nature or the elements. Creation bursts with the knowledge of God all around us. Look, look and see that he is real, that he is active, that he is lovely.

We may not answer every question about God that way, in fact I’m certain we won’t. But before we get too deep or too lofty, God wants us to remember our smallness and even cherish it. He does.