Readings for today: Job 35-40, Acts 14
A few days ago, I summitted Mt. Sneffels. It’s one of 54 “fourteeners” (peaks rising above 14,000’) in Colorado and is known as the “Queen of the San Juans” because of the amazing views of the surrounding peaks and valleys. Those who know me well know how much I love hiking and climbing. Sneffels was peak number 15 for me and I’ve climbed several others multiple times. None of them are easy. In order to summit a 14er, one has to hit the trail very early. Sometimes before the sun comes up. You typically ascend thousands of feet so your legs take a beating. Sometimes there’s a nice trail, sometimes not. Depending the route, you can be dangerously exposed both to the weather or a potential fall. Many of them are over 10 miles round trip. You race the clock to beat the afternoon storms before they roll in. But the payoff is definitely worth it. Standing on the summit makes you feel like you’re on top of the world.
It’s also makes you feel so very small. I thought about these words from Job when I got to the top of Sneffels. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7) It was a picture-perfect day. Not a cloud in the sky. I could see for miles and still my view was so limited. I could not see the foundations of the mountain on which I stood. I could not see to the end of the green valleys that stretched out before me. I could never determine the measurements of peaks that ranged all around me. Only God knows these things. He laid the foundations of the earth. He stretched out His line and determined the height of each of the 54 14,000’ peaks as well as the 637 13,000’ peaks and the more than 1,500 12,000’ peaks. God laid the cornerstone for each and every one. He sunk the base of Mt. Sneffels deep into the earth so it would never tremble or fall. Reflecting on His omnipotence as I stood surveying the vastness of His creation took my breath away.
And then God showed me something even greater. “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it…Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?” (Job 40:2, 8) As humbled as I was by the creative power of God, I was even more humbled by His righteousness. His holiness. His purity. The chasm that exists between the Triune God in all His splendor and majesty and glory and a weak and ruined sinner like me dwarfs any mountain I could ever climb. No matter how hard I try, I can never ascend to God. No matter how far I walk, I can never draw close to God. No matter how early I rise, there simply isn’t enough time for me to work out my own salvation. Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Shall a sinner like me question God Himself? Am I that foolish that I would put God in the wrong so that I might be right? If I am honest, the answer is yes. I am that foolish. In fact, my foolishness knows no bounds. I contend against God daily in thought, word, and deed. I often act as if I know best. I believe down deep that I am the master of my own fate, the captain of my own destiny. And when things go sideways in my life, my first instinct is often to complain to God. To act as I’ve been wronged or put out or somehow unfairly treated. Frankly, I am more than willing to condemn God in order to justify myself.
Thankfully, God isn’t done with me and He wasn’t done with me that morning on Sneffels either. He still had yet more to share. Yes, His power is breaktakingly immense. Yes, His righteousness makes me fall on my face before Him. Like Job, “I am of small account; what shall I answer? I lay my hand on my mouth.” (Job 40:4) Like the great prophet Isaiah, “I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips…” (Isaiah 6:5) And yet, God loves me still. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about the vastness of God’s love. It is wider than the valleys that lay before me. It is higher than the mountain peaks that surrounded me. It is truly measureless, boundless, infinite in scope. Despite my own limitations, I know there is an end to the earth. Given the right instruments and training, I know I could find the foundations of the mountains. I could stretch out a line across the valleys. I could even weigh the planet on a scale. Not so with God’s love. I cannot fathom it’s reach. I cannot grasp it’s heights or depths, it’s length or it’s breadth. It’s logic escapes me. It’s faithfulness astounds me. There simply is nothing like it in all creation. And that, friends, is the wonder of the gospel. God hikes the heavens to come to us! God climbs every mountain and crosses every valley to get to us! God bridges every gulf and every chasm in order to save us! You are not small in His eyes! You are not insignificant to Him! He loves you with an everlasting love and He will allow nothing in all creation to separate you from Him!
Readings for tomorrow: Job 41-42, Psalm 1, Acts 15