July 25, 1999 Has Your God Grown Up? Psalms 119
By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Sand Fork Baptist Church
"Once when Bev, my second daughter, was quite small but quite interested in growth, she promised me she would grow while I was gone on a ministry trip for a couple of weeks. When I returned and stepped off the plane, she greeted me with, "Daddy, come home quick! We gotta see how much I growed!" So we went home to the closet door and measured. It couldn't have been more than a few millimeters, but she jumped up and down. "Daddy, I told you, I did grow!"
Then we went into the living room for a special time of talking, and she asked me one of those questions you wish kids wouldn't ask: "Daddy, why do big people stop growing?"
I don't know what I told her, but I'm sure it was very superficial: "Well, you need to understand, Bev, they stop growing up but not out - - you know, a nice dresser, but their middle drawer is sticking out." -- Howard Hendricks
Why is it that the kids continue to grow and we always stay the same? At every family reunion I have been to the kids keep getting bigger and bigger, but I am still the same. Oh yea, I may be a little balder, a little slower, but I still remain the same. Maybe my perception is the problem and not the growth. Can God grow up? Well, the Bible shows us plainly that God is Changeless. This is important to people who are constantly changing. We need someone who doesn't get old, sick, tired, or slow to depend on through this ever-changing life that we live. But, our perception of God should continue to grow as we become more and more aware of who He is. Actually we are the ones who the changing and growing. But it may seem to us that He is the one who is growing. Let's think about the ways that the Psalmist grew in his relationship to God in Psalm 119:129-136.
Psalm 119:129 PE. Thy testimonies [are] wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. 130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. 131 I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments. 132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name. 133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. 134 Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts. 135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes. 136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
These are the ways we need to grow in our relationship with God. Will you let God Grow Up in your life?
The reasons why I'm giving up sports: football in the fall, baseball in the summer, basketball in the winter. I've had it all. I quit attending sports once and for all, and here are my 11 excuses:
1. Every time I went, they asked for money.
2. The people I sat next to didn't seem friendly.
3. The seats were too hard and not comfortable at all.
4. I went to many games but the coach never came to call on me.
5. The referees made decisions that I couldn't agree with.
6. The game went into overtime and I was late getting home.
7. The band played numbers I'd never heard before and it wasn't my style of music.
8. It seems the games are always scheduled when I want to do other things.
9. I suspect that I was sitting next to some hypocrites. They came to see their friends and they talked during the whole game.
10. I was taken to too many games by my parents when I was growing up.
11. I hate to wait in the traffic jam in the parking lot after the game.
One measure of our spiritual maturity is the way we respond to our circumstances when things go wrong. If we go into a depression, doubt God's existence, or strike out at some innocent person, we have some growing up to do.
Explorer Thomas Hearne and his party had just set out on a rigorous expedition in northern Canada to find the mouth of the Coppermine River. A few days after they left, thieves stole most of their supplies. Hearne's response to the apparent misfortune can inspire us all, for he wrote, "The weight of our baggage being lightened, our next day's journey was more swift and pleasant."
If your God hasn't grown up will you begin today to allow him to in your life?