I was in a conversation with a friend a few days ago....and we were talking about the amount of time that a Christian spends....daily....on....things of the Lord....God's Word....the world today as it relates to God's Word....devotions....evangelizing....everything. His take was that over history it appears that God gifts certain men....and women....with the gift of being overwhelmed at all times with the glory of God....and he brought up a few names of great Christian ministers and missionaries of the past as examples.
I paused....I like to pause in conversation....and mentioned J. I. Packer....a renown British/Canadian theologian and author....Knowing God....1973....that had a great effect on so many of us. He was also considered an expert on the Puritans. Well....someone once described to him that the Puritans were....'giants'....in the faith....in which Packer responded....(I bet he paused first)....something like this...."It's not so much that the Puritans were....'giants'....but that we are....'Pygmies.'
A couple of things jump out to me on this whole question of how much devotion we display to God. The first would be....do we really realize that we were on our way to....(lets' see.....we can't say 'hell' today....what would the typical evangelical think the worst possible place would be)....we were on our way to a Democrat-run city....forever....before God pulled us out of the fire? I don't think that we fully comprehend that we were indeed going to eternal damnation.
I would also point out that we....overall....in spite of having the word thrown around all the time....we really have no idea of God's 'holiness.' We can see this in all the....'died gone to heaven....talked with Jesus....he sent us back'....stories that come out all the time. If we were really standing before Jesus....we wouldn't be standing....as we would be as dead....for being in the presence of such holiness....and He would have to give us the power to simply stand and worship.
I can testify to this one....more than most....the more we know how wretched we were....and how wretched we in fact are....the more we stand in awe at the mercies extended to us....and the more we climb a tree to get a glimpse of Him...or the more we reach out just to touch His robe.
There is an axiom....it goes something like this....'the closer we get to God....the more we see our own sin...and the more we see His holiness.' This is definitely a true saying....and it explains the Puritans....and it explains why the world despised and intentionally misinterpreted them so. Their shepherds brought them closer to God....and they in turn saw His holiness so much more!
So as far as how much thinking of God dominates our lives....it is directly proportional to how close we get to His refining fire. Someone for example...R. C. Sproul....he enjoyed music....and art....and history....and laughter....but his life was dominated by the holiness of God. This in itself wasn't a special gift given him. He wasn't a 'giant'....and he wasn't a 'Pygmy.' He was the quintessential normal biblical Christian born again believer....overwhelmed by the mercy extended to him....and the holiness of God....a man who rejoiced his whole life of a believer....not perfect by any means....but driven....as all of us should be....to continue on this pilgrimage....shouting out to everyone who can hear...."Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." Revelation 4:11 ESV
