Praising God Misunderstood

Reading in Luke 23, I was struck by the centurion’s praise of God at the cross.

 

The passage reads in verse 47,

 “Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, ‘certainly this man was innocent.’”

 

Never before had this Roman soldier witnessed true innocence. I began to think how often in evangelical Christianity do we equate praising God with singing worship songs as our emotions peek to new heights. Legitimate as this form of praising God may be (and I believe it is), there is something seriously lacking if we alone consider this our time to adore the Lord. 

 

Consider the centurion’s context. He had just witnessed one of history’s most vulgar forms of public humiliation resulting in excruciating death, and Luke writes that the centurion praised God in recognition of the innocence of the suffering Jesus. The centurion here recognized an aspect of the perfect character of God in seeing Jesus’ innocence. I submit from Scripture that true praise to God is any and all recognition of truth as derived from the Creator. We worship the Lord through song declaring His mighty works; yet let us not ignore the simple yet profound praise that God demands in acknowledgment of all truth originating from Himself. Applying this we are left with a pursuit of recognizing the nature and character of God as found in every life circumstance. Praise to God should be offered in an array of emotions and events and does not demand excitement. His perfect character is what we praise and place our trust in, not the favorable outcome of our lives. We exist to glorify the Lord in all His perfections as seen in everyday life.

 

When we recognize true perfection in the character of God, we are responding in worship, for we are taking our proper place and ascribing to the Lord the glory due His name. Let us praise the Lord in recognition of truth and thoughtfully enjoy the beauty of at least one of his perfect attributes today; there are more than enough to choose from.

Colorless Comprehension

Imagine the world without color, absolutely no firsthand account. Picture someone blind from birth with no conception or differentiation of shades or brightness. Now, consider attempting to describe color and light to that person. Framework for comprehending your articulated words is limited, and as such they are restricted in their ability to understand. They have no personal reality in which to place descriptive communication of a world depicted in color. Visually speaking all they have known is darkness. Explaining and describing color with other senses may carry insight, but this side of eternity they will not comprehend our world’s array of light.

Our vantage point as created beings in light of an infinite God is quite similar in analogy. Humanity exists within the confines of a very real world, but we see life and existence through a lens polluted with the stain of sin. Visually, our understanding is far beyond tainted by limits we scarcely realize. Yet eternal God is not constrained nor contained within time, space, or rebellion. Living within time and the confines of physical fallen bodies hinders our sight. Sight that Jesus came to remedy once and for all. A cure of highest cost; so much that it demanded the blood of God. Lovingly and graciously Jesus paid to open the eyes of the blind and through Himself explain to us the Father.   

“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?”  The counsel of the Lord is flawless and the decision of His mind is faultless. Infinite are His way and finite His creation. Creation longs for understanding and to each is given a measure of beholding His glory. This glory is beyond our comprehension but within our grasp of astonishment.

The Lord says to the blind, listen to my words. Open your eyes to the color of my counsel. Know me and my wonder. Come to me and love my beauty. Man turns in his mind and scarcely scratches at the wonder of the great I AM. Timeless and boundless, the Creator of confines and space makes Himself known, yet we grasp not the fullness of Him. Like babes born blind we scratch and grasp at wisdom and understanding. To fully comprehend Him who is incomprehensible far exceeds the confines of this physical universe, but the eternality of our spiritual beings eagerly awaits the revelation of His splendor.

The day is coming when these blind eyes will be fully opened because of the blood of Messiah and His glory will consume. Then I will finally bow and surrender my worship with open eyes and a humble spirit. Then will I pass from containment to the spiritual realm of His kingdom. This imperfect man shall see Him and be like Him. He will burst the restraints of the physical and open the eyes to endless glories. Wonder and praise will be the response.

Under the sun there is folly and the pursuit of wisdom. Over the sun there is perspective and proper positioning before the King of glory who paid it all. The infinite Creator left perfect relationship with the Father and took on humanity to open the eyes of blind sinners through paying the price of our cosmic treason with His spotless blood.

HE MUST INCREASE, but i must decrease.  - John 3:30 (NASB)

The drive behind this blog is to make much of God, for there is nothing in life so eternally rewarding than praising Him who is infinitely deserving. Because God’s glory is the highest human passion, may this blog be saturated with praise to our worthy Father. Oh the privilege to joyously tell of His infinite perfections, His abundant grace, His radical love, His immovable faithfulness, His just wrath, His eternal existence, His sustaining presence, and His consuming glory.

“³⁵ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD my rock and my Redeemer" - Psalm 19:14 (NASB)

My prayer is that this blog would serve as a means to testify of God’s faithfulness and steadfast work as demonstrated in the lives of my wife and I as we proclaim the power of God’s grace working in us. May we boldly boast in the work of our loving Savior and sovereign King until at last we bow before Him.

The faithfulness of God is not on trial, but rather our faith in the Father’s perfect plan of redemption and His work of transforming children into His likeness. As we anticipate the coming trials of a life lived for the name of Jesus, may joyful service be our expression of faith as we are transformed by His Spirit. Faith placed in God’s faithfulness yields certainty, for God’s character is steadfast and His Word endures.

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” – James 1:2-8 (NASB)