There are roughly 7 billion people on planet Earth. This may sound like a lot of people until you put it into perspective. In our galaxy alone there could potentially be over 500 million other planets that might be able to sustain life. Just in the Milky Way! In addition, there are possibly billions of other galaxies in the universe. Billions. So, if there are billions of galaxies that could each possibly have millions of planets that could each have billions of life forms... that's a lot of potential people! When I think of how many people there could be it makes me think 7 billion is not a huge number. We are a small planet in a small galaxy, compared to the rest of the universe. As far as we know we are the only human life in existence. Just us. A tiny grain of sand at the ocean. For some reason, God created a system that holds about 7 billion people at a time on one planet. Have you ever stopped to ponder why? If you are the creator of all and you can do more, why not?
I think one of the answers to this question is restraint. I'm not claiming to understand the mind of God here, just making one observation. He could have done more, but He didn't. He came to a point of satisfaction and stopped. We know this from Genesis 1. He didn't continue to tinker and rearrange for the next few weeks after creation. He stopped. I believe we see this type of restraint all throughout the Bible. Jesus showed restraint when he turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple, as recorded in Matthew 21. I used to struggle with His actions here and wonder how He could have done such a thing. But now, I'm amazed He didn't do more! He could have blinked His eyes and wiped out the entire city. But He didn't. Each time the disciples asked Him the same questions over and over and over He could have instantly made them mute so He wouldn't have to listen. But He didn't. He could snap a bone in my body each time I sin. But He doesn't. He is a fiercely loving and jealous God who can do anything at any time. But He is tender enough to have restraint.
This concept of restraint hit me the other day when I was upset with someone. I wanted to lash out and release all of my anger towards them. I came close. Later that day I felt the Lord speak to me about self-control. He reminded me that He, too, shows self-control. He restrains Himself because of His great love for humanity. Of course, it's not hard for Him like it is for me. Even in His correcting of my wrong actions He was gentle and restrained. Such a powerful reminder that just because I can do something, doesn't mean I should. Self-control is more than me just keeping my mouth shut and stewing in silence. It is about recognizing that I follow the Creator of the universe, not the other way around. It's about being led by His example and replacing my will with His. As I marvel at His greatness displayed in the vastness of creation I will listen anew for His still, small voice. I will seek to show restraint whenever possible. Of course, these are only my observations, as I'm only passing through.
Copyright © Rachel D. Butler and Only Passing Through. All Rights Reserved.
I think one of the answers to this question is restraint. I'm not claiming to understand the mind of God here, just making one observation. He could have done more, but He didn't. He came to a point of satisfaction and stopped. We know this from Genesis 1. He didn't continue to tinker and rearrange for the next few weeks after creation. He stopped. I believe we see this type of restraint all throughout the Bible. Jesus showed restraint when he turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple, as recorded in Matthew 21. I used to struggle with His actions here and wonder how He could have done such a thing. But now, I'm amazed He didn't do more! He could have blinked His eyes and wiped out the entire city. But He didn't. Each time the disciples asked Him the same questions over and over and over He could have instantly made them mute so He wouldn't have to listen. But He didn't. He could snap a bone in my body each time I sin. But He doesn't. He is a fiercely loving and jealous God who can do anything at any time. But He is tender enough to have restraint.
This concept of restraint hit me the other day when I was upset with someone. I wanted to lash out and release all of my anger towards them. I came close. Later that day I felt the Lord speak to me about self-control. He reminded me that He, too, shows self-control. He restrains Himself because of His great love for humanity. Of course, it's not hard for Him like it is for me. Even in His correcting of my wrong actions He was gentle and restrained. Such a powerful reminder that just because I can do something, doesn't mean I should. Self-control is more than me just keeping my mouth shut and stewing in silence. It is about recognizing that I follow the Creator of the universe, not the other way around. It's about being led by His example and replacing my will with His. As I marvel at His greatness displayed in the vastness of creation I will listen anew for His still, small voice. I will seek to show restraint whenever possible. Of course, these are only my observations, as I'm only passing through.
Copyright © Rachel D. Butler and Only Passing Through. All Rights Reserved.
RSS Feed
