The wonder of it all…
Filed in General |Journal,
Today is Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day to all you dads.
I was reading our local paper this morning (Alexandria Town Talk), when I saw a most beautiful picture of a painting done by a daughter of her father. It was part of an article entitled, ‘Dad’s time to shine.’ The painting is by Cathy Turpin of her now deceased father, Clarence Turpin, Jr. It was such a moving painting. I tried to call Cathy just to thank her for sharing the painting and for sharing her thoughts of her dad, but was unable to locate her number. I’ll keep trying. 
Maybe later today.
Here is the painting. It struck such a chord in my heart. I’ve often wondered if I am an oddity because I think so much about my heavenly home.
Its not that I have some sort of morbid death wish. It is really about an imprint in my heart, letting me know that I am just a pilgrim in this life, and that this world is not my home. Every child of God carries this divine imprint.
Eyes opened to God’s world…
For the one whose eyes have been opened to Jesus, it takes just a bit of reflection to hold fast with what David said when he penned these words:
“Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.”
(Psa 139:4-10)
There is a mystic side to the life of all God’s children…
I use the word ‘mystic’ in the sense of something that inspires wonder. Jesus inspires wonder in and to all true believers. In fact it was through Jesus that we came to know our heavenly Father. And there is no greater experience in life than that of coming to know your heavenly Father in a personal way. Jesus said that this knowing God as your Father is what eternal life is all about.
Listen to His prayer,
“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. ‘This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
(Joh 17:1-3)
Did the Old Testament believers have the same longings as we have….
We may find it strange to say that the Old Testament people of God actually had experiences with Jesus Christ, but on a different level. The cross changed all that.
Yes, they had experiences with Jesus. They simply did not know Him by that name. They knew Him as “the Word of God,” as “the Messenger of Yahweh,” as “the Redeemer,” as “the Form of God,” as “the Glory of God,” even as “Salvation,” and especially as ‘”the Ever Present One,” that is, “the I Am.”
One writer even spoke of Him as the “Son.” The sage said,
“Surely I am more stupid than any man. Neither have I the understanding of a man. Neither have I learned wisdom. Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.” He went on to say, “Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know.” (Cf. Pro30:2-4)
What did Paul mean in calling Jesus ‘the form of God’…
Let’s take just one term in particular, that is “the Form of God.” When God met with Moses above the mercy seat, Moses saw what was called the “form” or “similitude” of God. This is brought out when the Lord rebukes Miriam and Aaron over their presumptuousness in regard to Moses. The Lord said, “My servant Moses, He is faithful in all his household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of God…” (Num12:8)
The Hebrew word for “form” is ‘temuhah.’ There is no way to escape what this term means. Moses saw an appearance of the Lord God of Israel, called “the form of God.” Thus we hear Paul say, “Who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.” (Phil 2:6) The apostle clearly intended this to be understood that Jesus was the one Moses had direct relations with in the former testament.
David had experiences with Jesus…
This was the case with all the prophets of old and with many others who belonged to the Lord. Abraham had visitations with Jesus. David saw Him in the sanctuary. Jacob wrestled with Him. The mother and father of Samson saw Him. The list goes on and on. These ancient people of God had visitations with the very One who would become incarnate as the historical Jesus Christ.
What is the point in all this? The point is that “He was there all the time.” Is it any wonder that Jesus wept over Jerusalem. It says, “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” He added, “Because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Cf. Luke 19:41-44)
Our experience with the man called ‘Wonderful’…
Now for the mystic side of our union with Christ. Yes, each of us has had our visitation from the Lord. Not just a single visitation. The visitations stretch over time. This is why believers cannot always speak of an exact moment upon which to base their salvation. As believers continue their walk with the Lord, they become more aware of the total sum of their life, including even those days before coming to know Jesus Christ personally, and they will simply say, “He was there all the time.” 
Why is this? It is because Jesus is the Ever Present One. His footsteps can be seen across the pages of history. He is from time without beginning or without end. He has always been in the bosom of the Father. He has always been present in the lives of those who belong to Him. This is why Jesus could say to the Jewish questioners, “Before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8:58)
This is also why Jesus could give the disciples a final message before leaving the earth, saying, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt28:20) And where it says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” this is a reflection off the “I Am” revelation of the God of the Bible.
Oh, the wonder of it all…
Actually “Wonderful” is another Old Testament name that can be applied to the Lord Jesus. When David said, “Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory,” He was speaking of this One that we love so dearly, Jesus Himself. Paul said that Jesus is the Power of God. John said that Jesus is the Glory of God. David was beholding the Ever Present One, the One called Wonderful.
Isaiah speaks to this in saying,
“For a child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa9:6)
When the parents of Samson wanted to know what the Messenger of Yahweh’s name was, He said to them, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is Wonderful.” (Judges 13:18)
Then David gives us this marvelous Psalm that speaks to the very heart of the wonder of our walk with Jesus. In Psalm 139, David used the term “wonderful” more than once. Let’s listen to a few snippets of Psalm 139:
“Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (vv4-6)
“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.” (vv13,14)
“Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would out number the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.” (vv16-18)
I Am with you always…
Was David speaking of the Ever Present One? Indeed. And when David writes, “When I awake, I am still with You,” it always triggers a memory on my part. (I’ve shared a bit of this in prior journal entries.) As a wee lad my mom use to kneel beside me at my bed as I prayed the simple prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake. I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
As a little child I had consciousness of the Lord. Yet I knew nothing about Him. I only knew that I was calling someone, Lord. My heart was the heart of a tender child. Did I believe in Him. Yes, with all my heart. Was the Lord there? O yes indeed. He was there all the time. He knew me from eternity. Yet it would be another twenty years before the Ever Present One would actually speak directly into my heart, letting me know that He had been with me always.
And as the Bible begins its closure, we once again hear, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Rev22:13)
What then is the last sentence to be read as we close our Bible? It says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (v21)
Thanks again Cathy…
… for such a wonderful painting.
And happy Father’s Day again to all you dads. May you rejoice in your role as a father. May the heavenly Father’s Heart be fully manifest in your calling as a father.
Oh, the wonder of it all.
Blessings,
Buddy
