Keeping God at a Distance

Keeping God at a Distance

1/29/14

There is no question that humans love to try and accomplish things on their own.  There is nothing wrong with this concept because without our ingenuity that has been graciously given to us our lives would be nothing but a blob that takes up space.  The problem with this concept is that humans tend to get caught in the fact that we have accomplished a certain feat and then almost immediately afterwards forget who actually instilled our drive to progress in the first place. If left unchecked this concept of self worth and social belief can lead to a damaging result in our existence and if we continue in this egotistic harboring, our Creator will have to remind us of who really is the creative source.

A major question that we must ask ourselves is who do we have a relationship?  Is our relationship with ourselves or is it with God.  The answer to this question poses a significant standard within our lives and in turn portrays to others exactly what course we have chosen for our lives.  It is the evidence through this choice that makes all the difference in which we have relationships with and in whom we choose to believe.  I know I have hit on the choice issue for quite some time now but choosing is an important area of our existence that we need to consider and render it impossible to survive without.  When we think about the matter of choice in this way, it should throw out all of the selfish mannerisms of choice and bring into light the major decisions and consequences of the choices we are making and will make over the next few years.  It is very important for us to realize just how important our choices are and how final these choices can be as well.  No choice should be easily made without proper understanding of the complete circumstance.

When we choose to exalt ourselves over the truth and proclaim our futile deeds to the world as a triumph over others, we are falling into the trap that has been laid before us by the king of this world.  Let us think for a moment of how our enemy came to the position that he is in today.  It is easy for some of us to understand that Satan is our enemy but do we really understand how he became our enemy and how it relates to our lives, on an individual level?  Yes, you read that correctly, on an individual level; that means you and your decisions will affect your relationship with God and could lead to your eternal downfall.  I can guarantee that most of us whimsically make choices to do something or not to do something without even thinking twice about our decision, but maybe we should consider other possibilities before we fly off with a directional choice that may lead to an outcome that is less desirable than originally thought.

As we all know there were two major sides fighting each other during World War II.  There were many countries that participated on each side and due to the choices of a few people many millions of people suffered and / or died because of their choices.  What many people might not know is that some of the nations that fought on one of the sides did so reluctantly and were really not eager to step up and commit their men and private citizens to the fight.  If a person is involved in a fight for her / his homeland then the fight becomes personal and for the most part those people are willing to die for the defense of their country, state, or private property.  But when a soldier fights for his country and represents his country in a far off land the meaning of the fight has an entire different set of tone the soldier’s commitment.  It has been well documented that the respect level of a soldier that is fighting in the name of their country on foreign soil their actions towards the foreign lands and its inhabitants are far different if they are taking aim from their own home.

Hungary is a prime example of this type of commitment with their contingency during World War II.  It was well documented that their soldiers questioned many orders that the Germans gave them to complete and it became evident to the Hungarian generals that these orders and missions were all in response to a defensive measure to ensure that the “more highly trained and capable” German soldiers could retreat if necessary while the Hungarians staved off the enemy.  It was difficult for the Hungarian soldiers to commit themselves fully to a battle in which they were purposefully going to be slaughtered in order for others on their side to walk away and fight another day unscathed.  This scenario played out accordingly with many other non connected countries and not just Hungary.  One can only imagine how these soldiers would fight when they realized their worth to their friends’ cause.  Even after World War II ended, Hungary suffered greatly due to the side of the war that they chose to fight alongside, and it did not matter if their leaders did try to switch sides and exit the war early. 

Going to make a statement now that might ruffle some feathers but it needs to be said and it needs to sink into our hearts as the truth, because it is the truth.  Most people tend to forget that Lucifer and God had a close relationship with each other at one point in time.  We do not think about the origins of Lucifer and how much he meant to God and His Kingdom.  We need to keep in mind Lucifer was a great being and that if there was anything like a number two person, he would have been it.  We know that there is no way that God will ever pass away from reality or from existence but if that happened, Lucifer would stand in line to take over the helm.  So, if Lucifer had this much status within God’s Kingdom that means that they must have had some type of close relationship long enough for Lucifer to have the desire to want more out of his existence.  I am not going to say anything else about this subject now but I will be addressing it more in detail in the days to come, but keep in mind that Lucifer has a choice and he made that choice based upon his own personal decision.

Lucifer bettered himself to a higher standard than what he was able to bear.  His “eyes” got bigger than his head so to speak which allowed his own personal being to seem bigger than what it actually was.  These feelings steadily grew and it eventually became an all consuming fire within his being.  It was at this time that he gave up his ordained role and presented himself to God and demanded more authority within the Kingdom.  At this point God was his equal or even below his self consumed status, so God acted in accordance and put him in his place to see what he could do.  The rest is history as they say and we understand how things operate within our own inner beings now.  For see God created Lucifer and all of the angels and He also created us so that means we are all subject to God’s ways and not our own.  However, we tend to believe that we are on the same level as God and if we do not change our choices of habit, we too will soon fall.

There are thousands of examples in our history where certain people have believed that the ways of a leader are not working and that the ways of these rebellious people are better.  Leaders are placed into these types of positions for a reason and while a minority of these leaders proves to be inadequate at their responsibilities the majority of leaders will prove they are highly adequate and proficient in their titles.  When I was a young boy my father told me a saying that he said would help me while I was in the working force.  The saying was a simple one but it had so much meaning.  He told me that no matter how high up I went in a position that there would always be someone higher than me and to always understand that the people that are above me could always override my level of authority.

I have the privilege of living in Colorado which provides me with numerous mountains and their respective peaks.  There have been occasions that my family and I have hiked to a couple of these peaks and have looked over the valleys below and have thought that we were on the top of the world.  As I look across the valley and continue my visual quest across that valley it soon gives way to another mountain range.  And when my eyes focus upon that mountain range, they actually play a trick on me.  My eyes tell me that I am now on the same plane as the other mountain range and that I personally am the same size as other mountains.  And as I look over at this other mountain range it does not seem near as big as it did a while ago while I was in the valley.

At this point you believe that you have accomplished your goal of becoming equal with something that you had no control over in the first place.  From where I am standing, my eyes tell me that I am equal in size to the other mountain that is across the valley and I totally forget that in truth I am just a mere small person in comparison to that huge mountain.  This is the context in which people or nations place themselves when they incorporate their own identities first and forget about the truth of what is around them.  Those two mountain peaks are permanent structures and while they look equal in size when I am on top of one of them I am projecting a false truth if I even dare say that I am just as tall as they are.

One recognizes this fact when a person is in the valley between these mountains.  Don’t believe me?  Even when a person is in the valley and looking towards a distant mountain, that mountain does not look all that difficult to climb nor does it seem too high either.  The focus that we have is always on ourselves and we do not realize just how big other objects are until we reach their bases.  As our steps draw closer to the mountain the size of the mountain becomes more in focus and the challenge is soon realized as soon as we reach the mountain’s base.  Now look up and see just how big that mountain is compared to you.  See, the truth now?  The reality is that the mountain that your eyes said that you were equal with is actually thousands of feet higher than your body and this is what we should understand about ourselves, not that we are any higher in stature than what we really are.

This type of belief is what Lucifer was displaying when God said to him, ok let me see what you have, prove to me that you have the ability to create a being just as perfect as I have created you.  If one thinks about this situation, how many of us have a similar response as Lucifer’s?  Is it uncommon for us humans to have these same ideas and ambitions when we want something more than what our current status provides or do we contemplate how much better things would be run if we were in charge?  Even with God’s unlimited ability to create and to love, He allows Lucifer to try and create objects that would exceed what God has already created and set into motion.   And Lucifer has the audacity to try and complete this new mission of his; seems funny but it did happen.  Another awesome example of God’s love was to allow Lucifer to be given plenty of time for him to try and create life better than what God had already established.  In other words while both God and Lucifer “friendship” had been defined upon a structured relationship, Lucifer wanted more and gave into his own wants and chose to defile his own standing within God’s Kingdom.  Which poses another logical question in such that if this choice is a permanent one, then what about the choices we make, do they fall in the same style of category?

Ever wondered what or if Lucifer was able to create his own organisms or living beings?  Ever pose the question to yourself that there is a reason of why God chose to create humans in the manner in which He did?  After an allotted amount of time had passed God said that it was time to demonstrate that Lucifer had not the capability to complete this task but that God still had the power to create another being in His image and to show once and for all that God was all powerful and not His creations.  This is where reality sets in with Lucifer so much so that his name is changed for eternity.  The mountain top that Lucifer believed that he had reached just hit him square in the face as he took his eyes off of the distant mountain that was now directly before him.

When we reach the other side of the valley we must understand that our lives have not changed even though we have gone from one mountain to another.  Since the mountains are a constant it is only the relationship that we have with the One who has created those mountains has changed and it is not until we look ahead and realize that the other mountain is actually a huge object that stands in front of our lives that we have the opportunity to change our perspectives on reality.  We have all forgotten who gave us the ability to reach the top of the mountain and have fine tuned our focus on us being at the top of the mountain, or conquerors if you wish.

In order to realize the height of the other mountain we must first come down from the mountain that we are on and go across to the other mountain.  Then and only then can we begin to understand the details about that mountain and all of the intricacies that it has.  This is where the relationship between you and the mountain begins.  One cannot ascertain details about a mountain by looking at it from a distance, only general features can be observed.  Until we reach the mountain and then begin our ascent up that mountain can we fairly draw conclusions about the mountain, the same concepts are true about God and other humans as well.  We also must keep in our forethoughts that there are two ways that we can come down from the mountain that we are standing on, one is for us to voluntarily walk down its side or the second way is for us to taken down off the mountain.

I find it so amazing that we try to continually elevate ourselves in the face of God in order to prove to others that we are far more superior to the One who created us.  God created us to be special in every way possible and if we do not keep our eyes focused upon the vastness and truly indefinable Creator it will not be too long that we will find ourselves standing upon top of the mountain and being faced with the decision about where our rightful place is supposed to be.  We have to face reality and for us to understand that we are humans and we will make mistakes in judgments, decisions and choices but when we realize these events in our lives have proven to be false let us have the dignity to admit them and to change where it is necessary.  God wants us to be all we can be but for us to accomplish this feat we need to understand that God gave us everything including the freedom to choose and to make decisions based upon those choices.

God is a vast being that would take our life time to understand one small portion of just one of His cells.  He is a huge mountain that we cannot fully understand unless we take the time to climb Him.  We cannot honestly say that we know God until we have begun this process and if all truth be known; there is no way that we can say that statement at all for our finite minds cannot comprehend God.  When you cross the valley and reach the other mountain, look up and see what you are faced with and then the relationship with that mountain can begin.  This is what we need to do in order to understand and then share about God.  Building a relationship with God takes time but it also takes time for us to come down from our own mountain in order that we can understand who God really is and how much He loves us.  God represents nothing but life and yet we love to stand on a mountain of personal selfishness and destruction. 

It is evident that western society has openly adopted the philosophy of the world.  It is also well recognized that we have chosen our true king, the one that we are placing our faith and trust in completely.  While this action is serving its purpose in worldly manners, God will allow this to continue for just as He allowed Lucifer to try and justify his notions, so will God allow us to do the same.  See God is a complete God and He shall never do things half way no matter if it within His Kingdom standards or not. 

DLB