“A NASA Mission was leaving the solar system years ago when, at the request of Carl Sagan, it was commanded by NASA to turn its camera around and take a last photo video of Earth across a great expanse of space. The attached video’s accompanying words are spoken by Carl Sagan.”
PAUL DAVID TRIPP
You’ve been born into a world of authority, and it is not you. Disobedience dethrones God and enthrones you in your heart.
You could argue that the most important words in all of the Bible are the first four words, “In the beginning, God . . .” Those words are meant to change the way you think about yourself, life, God, and everything else. God was on site before you were. The earth and everything in it is an expression of his design and his purpose. Because he is the Creator of all things, all things belong to him. God created you. That means you belong to him. You and I were carefully designed for his purpose. We did not make ourselves. We did not rise out of the primordial ooze, the result of impersonal forces. We are the direct product of God’s creative power and will.
Now, think about this. When I make something, it belongs to me precisely because I made it. The Bible says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Ps. 24: 1). This means there is no such thing as human autonomy. To deny this is to tell myself that my life belongs to me for my use for the purpose of my happiness. This is not only about denying God’s existence and authority, but it also is about denying my own humanity. All human beings were created to live with a life-shaping God consciousness and a willing submission to God’s authority.
This means that you and I will never be at the center of life, because God is. It will never be about us, because it is about him. It is never about our will and our way, because it is about his. We will never be the ultimate authority in our lives, because he is. To deny this is to deny reality and give yourself to the most dangerous of all delusions. To deny this is like denying the existence of the sun. If you did that, the people around you would think you were crazy. Sin makes us just that crazy. We deny the evidence that is all around us of God’s existence and authority. We tell ourselves that we are the only authority that we need. We write our own moral rules. We tell ourselves that we know what is best for us. We willingly step over God’s wise and protective boundaries. We run after what God says is wrong and we chafe against what he declares is right. We deny him as King and set ourselves up as the kings of our little worlds. We forget his glory and live for the glory of our own pleasure, power, comfort, and ease.
This is why grace is essential. It takes powerful rescuing grace to transform me from a self-rule junky into a person who willingly and joyfully submits to the plan and purpose of another. It requires powerful mercy for me to become a person who surrenders self-appointed authority to the authority of God. It takes grace for me to acknowledge that there is a King and that he is not me. It takes God’s rescuing hand for me to forsake the purpose of my kingdom and take up the purpose of his. Jesus submitted himself to the Father’s will even to death so that you and I would have the grace we need to do the same.
New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional
by Paul David Tripp
For further reflection, study, and encouragement
PSALM 19