God In Everything

Today a new year begins….the past is behind us.  I love to look back at what I was and what I have become, but I try not to focus on the past….but what I can do to improve….to become closer to God and to continue to strengthen my relationship with Jesus.  With that being said, I’m going to start a new series that has been on my mind for a few weeks now………..a series that came out of the new Star Wars movie.  Pretty weird place to find God you think?  I agree.  When the boys and I woke up at 8:00am on a Saturday morning and stepped into a movie theater, I didn’t expect to leave so emotional.

So those of you who are Star Wars fans have by now seen the movie, and those of you who aren’t…well, hopefully I can get my point across so you can understand.

Luke was speaking with Rey….trying to teach her about “The Force.”  He had her sit on a rock and explain what she felt…what she saw.  She described many things that were around her…the wind, waves, flowers, all kinds of things that were around her.  Luke proceeds to tell her “The Force” is in everything.  “The Force” is between everything…..it is all around us.  He tells her the Jedi took this power and turned it into a religion….tried to control it….but that they never should have done that.  Because in the end, Luke says the “Force” is for everyone…and shouldn’t be controlled.

At that moment, I saw so clearly that God is the force…..Jesus is the force.  God has always been here…..from the very opening verse of the Bible He has been here. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1.)”  And like God, Jesus has always been here, around us, between us, protecting us, guiding us.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being.  In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  The Light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:1-5.)”

God is in everything we do.  He is there is the good times and the not so good times.  He is there when we have great successes, and He is there when we stumble.  He puts us in situations where we can grow out of what we may think are horrible circumstances, and He places us in situations where we are meant to succeed.  “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4 4-6.)”

Jesus is here for all of us.  God is here for all of us.  And once you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit is here for all of us.  I personally don’t believe you have to be a “member” of a church, even though that’s where true growth can take place among fellow believers.  I believe that it all comes down to a personal relationship with Christ.  One where you can walk and talk with Him all day….one where you can come to Him in your deepest darkest times, and one where you can celebrate with Him during your triumphs.  Because God is for all of us.

Because, even though it was just a movie, Luke’s explanation of “The Force” is similar to our relationship with God and Jesus.  It shouldn’t be controlled by an organization, or a group of individuals…..but it should be built on a personal level…..and I believe that is the way, in the beginning, God intended it to be.  That is the way God set it up in the Garden of Eden.  It was man who broke the rules and ended that personal relationship that God so wanted.  So of course Jesus had to come.  Jesus had to die.  Jesus had to be resurrected to bridge that gap again.

In the time between Adam and Eve and the cross, God never left us.  He was still always there, always in control…..but he allowed us to do our own thing.  To run our own lives.  And we sure did a great job with that didn’t we?  That’s ultimately why Jesus had to die.  But don’t for one second think that in that “between time” God wasn’t still there in everything and between everything.

So as we all start this new year, know that nothing has changed since Adam and Eve.  God hasn’t “left us or forsaken us.”  He never abandoned us.  He was just setting us up for the ultimate victory that comes through the blood of Jesus Christ.  So in this new year, I pray that we can all find God’s love.  That we can all begin building or continuing building on our relationship with Christ…..and most of all I pray everyday that God will strengthen me when it comes to sharing Jesus with all.  Because in the end, it really comes down to a quote I heard in a sermon just a few days ago in my car as I came home from work…”Each one of us is responsible for either increasing the population of Hell or increasing the population of Heaven.”