God is bigger than a blog
citypowerhouse, devotion, hillspowerhouse
I write this blog with the risk of sounding repetitive from my previous blog but I think this bears repetition. When our daughter Sienna was born, so many people wanted me to send them a picture of her. I didn’t immediately grant them their request though. A few people thought the delay was because something might have gone wrong during the labour and we wanted to wait a bit before we sent a picture, maybe something needed to be healed up on her face. This was not the problem. The problem was not one of blemish, on the contrary. Sienna was beautiful from the moment she was born, and herein laid the “problem”. I sat and stared into her big beautiful eyes and then down to my phone, as I scrolled through it, looking for the picture that would sum her up. They were all good but none were perfect. One made her look massive (not that she is thin, she has some meat on her. Our nickname for her “Chunky Love” isn’t for nothing). Another made her look angry. One made her look worried and another made her look tired. It took me almost a whole day to send a photo out because nothing matched the reality I saw. The reality and beauty of our daughter could not be captured in one picture, it was impossible.
This is the same problem I have with our “Wiki” culture, where we are constantly looking for one source that will sum up, what we look up. As a young adults pastor, I have noticed a trend among young people to be very inquisitive and curious about life. This analytical mindset send people out searching for these “sources” that will tell them, what they want to know. The “challenge” we have with God, is that God is bigger than a blog.
I see people handing out CD’s, books, and “url”’s and web addresses for blogs and sites that explain what they believe or that gives a description of Jesus. Are you kidding me? Since when could the Creator of heaven and Earth be contained in a blog? Since when could Jesus, who created Earth as His footstool, man with His hands and Is Word made flesh, be contained to 800 words on a website? God is bigger than our CD’s, books and even sermons.
Does that mean we shouldn’t be listening and reading about God? No. Resources are a blessing that have helped Christians since the letters of Peter, Paul, Luke and the other disciples were passed around in the Early Church. Resources are a blessing but the problem occurs, when we are more fascinated with a blog than our God. The problem occurs when the books, speakers, CD’s and all the rest of it, distract us from the One source of all things, Jesus Christ. Too much analysing will sooner or later cause us to do a spiritual autopsy on God.
All our writing and singing and speaking and preaching should point everyone to Jesus. We must decrease and He must increase. This doesn’t mean decreasing our voice or platform but making sure that He is always the focal point of everything we do. Our Saviour Jesus is beautiful beyond description, so it is only fitting that there are so many expressions of Him and about Him; but let us realize that reality will ALWAYS far outweigh the description of it.
Let’s never fall so in love with the picture that we forget the person.
In all our sermons, podcasts and blogs, let’s remember they have nothing on the real person of Jesus Christ. Let’s never be so good at talking about Jesus that we forget to just be with Jesus.
What do you think? Have you ever found yourself distracted?
- Thomas
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:33 am
You’re right. So much of the time, we try to contain God into our small media, rather than pointing to God like a signpost.
Imagine if the signposts at the end of your street tried to describe every last detail of the people living along it!
May 5th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Good point….
Keep pointing Sean….
Thomas
May 8th, 2009 at 2:31 am
so good. reality always far outweighs description!
May 16th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
so true. so true.
May 19th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
[...] Full post: http://hillsong.com/blogs/powerhouse/2009/05/02/god-is-bigger-than-a-blog/ [...]
June 4th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Sweet blog. I never know what I am going to come across next. I think you should do more posting as you have some pretty intelligent stuff to say.
I’ll be watching you .
June 7th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Thanks for mentioning this… Felt this strongly… Have seen books, cds, dvds etc… On christianity (which is there to empower and increase our faith)… Nothing wrong with it but what gets to me is that i watch a christian programme on tv and almost half of the show a product is being offered, that it totally puts me off to even get the word or the programme into my system… And the message is a good one… There just needs to be a balance and not this ‘marketed jesus’ that i’ve been seeing lately… Or suffer the consequences.. (Losing a relationship with Jesus)!…
June 24th, 2009 at 3:09 am
eu quero ir pra Austrália, passar um tempo na Hillsong, pra ter esperiências com pessoas com o mesmo coração que o meu, será que alguém pode me explicar como eu fasso pra em escrever na Pawerhouse???
Tank’s.
Alex diretamente do Brasil.. Uhuuuuuuuu
June 24th, 2009 at 3:15 am
Deus abençoe voces
July 13th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I luv this .it does teach us many things in life…
July 26th, 2009 at 3:12 am
Spot on brother.. we will NEVER as human beings get on the same brain wave as our huge God, as His ways are higher than our ways, and we are not intended to seek knowledge on Him but Himself! He is a jealous God and wants nothing but our whole hearts! an awesome challenging, invitation to know that till we meet Him, we can seek and find Him and never get satisfied enough to not go back for more
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:35 am
Lord i come to you in prayer even right now that your people whom you have called out to preach YOUR Word will not forget the Beautiness and awe of Almighty God, the creator of the universe!
help us remember that there is no comparing to You and not even the slightest words to descibe your amazment. Love Ya Jesus in your name
Amen =)
November 9th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I strongly agree with you Thomas. The idea that we should rely on the resources written or created by man so heavily that it has the potential to blur our perceptions & relationship with Christ is scary.
I often read over 1 Corinthians 14 which I believe indicates that as followers of Christ we must as individuals be vigilant of what we are taught & when I feel that the teaching is not in align with Jesus Christ I take into consideration the teachings but refer it back to the biblical principles that are THE NUMBER ONE factor in a foundation to Christianity.