Are You Smarter Than a Rock?
Are You Smarter Than a Rock?
If you won’t praise God, someone or something else will. Why shouldn’t it be you who gives praise to God?
Luke 19 says: 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
On the Day of Judgment it will seem insulting to those who have rejected our Lord’s grace to know that inanimate objects have a better understanding of authority and Lordship than they did. On the Day of Judgment it will become clear that rejecting God’s authority will be a thing of the past.
I think this is what Jesus is trying to get the Pharisees to acknowledge: give praise to God when you can, because there will come a time when you might have to do it against your will. And you will see that the rest of creation understood something that you could not bring yourself to believe even with your own eyes. Christians will not be praising God against their will, but every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
This world is quick to rebuke those who give praise to God, saying that it isn’t fair to people who don’t agree. For those who continue to give praise to God in the midst of scorn, know that you are standing with the majority of creation (much more than just people). You are standing as a vocal testament alongside of the heavens and the earth, with their own voices, glorifying God as Creator. All things, alive or inanimate, point to the understanding that there is a Creator. It is better to be on the side of the 99.99999% that acknowledges the Creator, than the tiny minority (in the grand scheme of the universe) that choose to reject God’s authority.
Here are four ways that you can assure yourself that you are smarter than a rock:
(1) Know that spiritual intimacy comes by moving from a place of seeing Jesus as simply God but also as the means of reunification.
Most people did not like an East and West Germany. Most people did not like an East and West Berlin. I remember the celebrations that happened when the wall came down and divided families and friends were finally reunited.
God in Jesus Christ is the means of reunification for all of humanity. Where the wall of sin continues to separate, Jesus is there to reunite sinners with the God and His family of faith. This is where growth in God happens, when God ceases to be just a God of judgment, but a path to peace. When we understand why our praise is to be directed in Jesus’ direction, we will understand more fully what it means to live in happy submission to Him. In Christ, God sends great gifts of grace and spiritual reward our way.
(2) Recognize the medley of mighty works that God is doing in your life.
Medley invokes thoughts of music, and the medley of mighty works is the sound of God harmonizing this world with His heart of grace. The disciples recognized that the works of Jesus had been a sustained grouping of miracles all focused on helping them understand God’s true nature. They recognized that there was direction in what He was doing.
When we recognize the direction of what God is doing for us, we can start to see the consistency of what we need to learn and what we need to be reminded of when hope seems less resilient in our circumstances. These mighty works of God are meant to affect us to the point of worship and praise, but also to repentance and confession as needed. They are mighty because they transcend the boundaries of what is polite and ordinary, building something great within us, something God seeks as untouchable.
(3) Believe that because you have a voice, you have a greater opportunity.
Sometimes a teacher does all of the talking and leaves no room for discussion. Thanks be to God that He does not act in that way. God gives power to enter the conversation by our praise and our prayers, and that is an opportunity that many other religions simply don’t get. All they see is authoritarian with none of the grace. Christians have the ability to speak as witnesses beyond simple slaves called to do God’s bidding. We are called to be opportunistic beyond the rocks; use it.
(4) Seek to have your praise rise above the noise of the world.
The world has a love/hate relationship with noise. It’s fine when it suits us, and it’s unacceptable when we can’t distinguish its purpose. I remember a movie I saw 25 years ago where in the living room of one of the characters was a sign that read: If it’s too loud, you’re too old. Where the world is old on its thinking of noise, God is making all things new through praise.
Praise is what distinguishes our talk of God from the unhelpful noise of discrimination, hate, bigotry, racism, and exclusion. Praise reminds us that God seeks the reconciliation of all, and we must do more in our efforts so that we’re not simply trying to have it our way, but we want to have it God’s way. Praise reminds us of why we are called to be Christians and ambassadors of Christ’s reconciliation efforts.
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Stand with the stones. Stand with the Milky Way. Stand with the most distant star that was created at the hand of God. One day, when most have rejected the one, true God, He will cause the heavens and earth to speak even more loudly about the wonders of creation. Perhaps that will be a reawakening for the world of those with reasoning abilities.
God will not rebuke us for praising His name loudly. There can be no shame in the true worship of the true God. Amen.
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