Huge! Immense! Gargantuan and a dozen or so other descriptive words to express the largeness of something so small. I get this picture in my mind of the spider drawings found in the Andes Mountains in Peru, South America. The problem is, Ricinulei are one of the rarest spider genera on earth. The indigenous people of Nazca to whom the geoglyphs are attributed would have had to have examined them under a magnifying glass to determine the exact shape of the unique leg design drawn in the mountains. But, the optical technology to produce such a glass was not invented for many centuries in the future of the creation of the drawings in the mountains. While that in itself is fascinating, I am more drawn to the contrast. Why would someone make such a big display about something so small?
We always seem to be searching for the biggest , the best, the highest, the deepest of everything. Huge stuff is important, right? For many it is the matter or person of most horrific importance which will cause people to wonder if such a thing might be so. Aliens, living prehistoric creatures, clever deceptions, absolute denials of seeming incontrovertible truths and on and on the list goes. Even in the realms of Christianity we search for and proclaim the most atrocious or egregious views of doctrinal positions with the professed goal of protecting the truth and exposing the lies. Usually we are able to accomplish this without bothering to explain the magnifying glass.
And so someone declares “It must have been aliens”. Or some other unprovable imaginative theory. While the why of a thing is fascinating, it is often unknown. Why, for example, did God create the human race while knowing full well in advance the direction things would go. Couldn’t He have done something different? And so it begins. The searching for answers which brings more questions, uncertainties, divisions and worst of all, pride. Men, who are created, take great pains to somehow twist the thoughts and intents of God which Isaiah records as being far above what we can think or imagine. Twisted scriptures are often the result of well intended but short sighted conclusions. We desire truth in the inward parts. We declare the self evident proofs. Yet we tend to gloss over the exceptions to our conveniently crafted truths.
God tends to be the promoter of exceptions. It often seems to be the smallest pebble which makes the biggest splash. For the sake of discussion let me choose the doctrine of speaking in tongues presented in the new testament scriptures. The “truth” many would have you believe is that God supernaturally created an event and experience which provided the necessary authority for believing the miraculous events of Jesus’ death burial and resurrection and subsequent authority for the church and its leaders. There are convincing and substantially supported teachings on the cessation, continuance and re-establishment of a never to be repeated or ongoing demonstration of what the apostle Paul under the anointing of the Holy Spirit called the LEAST of gifts. You get to choose which path is huge for you.
It seems the little things take the majority of our attention. Huge mountains are easy to see. So we create them out of tiny hills. Without beating a dead horse, can we just get over ourselves? You and I are going to disagree and not completely understand how someone else who loves the same God could possibly believe so differently than we do. Consider the difference between the finite and the infinite. Think on the assumption that the created can fully know the mind and intent of the creator, or the mind boggling supposition that we are going to change someone else’s perspective by our wisdom.
We see differently because we are supposed to. Our experiences and teachers and reactions are ultimately directed or permitted by the creator of all things. And if He is satisfied with your perspective and progress in this life, then surely I can choose to be as well. Of course, it should be that our discourse may alter one or the others perspective. Ultimately it is God the Holy Spirit who encourages and draws each of us to the place of decision. That decision place varies with each of us and includes the love of God, hatred for sin and surrender to His will. Or else, rebellion, clinging to sin and despising that which is good. I want my influence to help you come to the place where you grow in His grace for His glory. It is a small thing. It is Huge.
Did I leave out colossal? That best describes the waste of time we choose when we try to be someones judge. A HUGE waste of love as well.