Friday, August 10, 2012

Friday in God's word

Matthew 9:8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God,who had given such authority to men.

When Jesus healed the paralyzed man in Matthew 9, the crowds were struck with awe.  This is how someone feels who is in the presence of an infinitely superior person.  Some today in the news have expressed awe in the presence of an athlete such as Usain Bolt, or a world leader like Lech Walesa.  We may thrill at the exploits of those who climb Mt. Everest, or marvel at the intelligence of a Stephen Hawking.  But these are just people.

Biblically, "awestruck” describes the reaction of those who witnessed several events in scripture: the shepherds hearing of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2, the apostles when their Lord walked on water in Matthew 14, the guards at the tomb when the angels rolled away the stone in Matthew 28, the people in the early church right after Pentecost in Acts 2, and the reaction to the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.

The awe-filled response by most of the people in the crowd as they witnessed what Jesus did for the paralytic was certainly the right one, especially since it resulted in their giving glory to God. Such an attitude should never be far from us as we strive to faithfully worship and serve the Lord.

So ask yourself this question?  How magnificent of a revelation does it take for you to be “awestruck” at God’s splendor and glory? What simple, basic, everyday things are ready examples of His greatness, though disguised as something ordinary and insignificant?

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