The other day I was with my niece in labor and delivery and they sent her down for an ultrasound. I've seen them before and will never forget 29 years ago seeing my firstborn on the day he was born, in an ultrasound. It never ceases to amaze me as I see how technology has advanced these almost 3 decades where now you can see a 3-D image of your unborn child before they are born.
As I stood watching the technician take specific views to make sure little Gabriel was still safe and sound, I was in awe as he measured bones, spaces of amniotic fluid, the girth of the baby to determine about how big he was at 35 weeks and try to catch a glimpse of his face which I might add was effectually hidden behind his two drawn up fists!
I was overwhelmed at the glory of creation. I was reminded of Gods own word and what it has to say about this...
"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." psalm 39:13-15.
Before the dawning of ultrasound expectant parents could only wonder at the child they felt moving within a mothers body. But God knew the width, the sex, the skin color, the very individual things that set that child apart.
When my mother and father were expecting me they had no way of knowing whether I was a boy or a girl; what color my hair and eyes were or what I would weigh when I was born. I was wrapped in mystery and yet though unseen they believed in my existence because of my mothers burgeoning belly, my movement and the sound of my heartbeat. They knew in part and believed.
Take it back a few hundred years before stethoscopes. Women had the lack of menses and a burgeoning belly to suspect a coming child. Movement inside the belly was the greatest proof they received of a coming new life. No heartbeat to hear; no ultrasound to see something tangible. They knew in part and believed.
And then I thought of Gods existence and remembered this scripture
" For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12."
Today we only know in part and yesterday we knew even less, and yet we believed. I think of a line from one of my favorite movies, The Polar Express. At one point the boy is challenged with this....is it that seeing is believing or is it that believing is finally seeing? There is so much that goes on around us or is around us that remains hidden, but still exists. Our vision is only limited. But does our limited vision mean that what we cannot see or understand is not there?
Almighty God. His son Jesus Christ. People in dire circumstances who cry out to our unseen triune God; people whose faith is raw and persistent and they bring forth life in the form of answered prayer and an ever burgeoning faith. Healing, provision, doors that open or close, dead things that come back to life. These situations and revelations become our stethoscopes and ultrasounds to see the reality of God's existence and power.
Like an ultrasound.... "for now we see through a glass darkly". We can see a little but not able to take in the magnificence. "then face to face". How amazing it is to behold a newborn child. To take it all in. To touch, to count, to feel. "Now I know in part. But then I will know as I am known".
I challenge you first to stretch your vision. If you can see through the glass darkly, take it all in and know there is more --- just as you know there is more to an unborn child than can be captured in an ultrasound. Secondly, ask yourself this....can you believe without seeing the whole picture? Remember this. Jesus said in the book of John,
"You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me." John 20:29
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