by David Brenneman
"Were creation suddenly articulate
With a thousand tongues to lift one cryThen from North to South and East to WestWe'd hear Christ be magnified
Were the whole Earth echoing His eminenceHis name would burst from sea and skyFrom rivers to the mountain topsWe'd hear Christ be magnified
Oh! Christ be magnifiedLet His praise ariseChrist be magnified in meOh! Christ be magnifiedFrom the altar of my lifeChrist be magnified in me"
- from "Christ Be Magnified" Cody Carnes
In the Gospels we read of those telling Jesus to silence those proclaiming praise to Him...His response was that the very rocks would cry out.
"and yet some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples! Jesus replied, "I tell you, if these stop speaking, the stones will cry out!"
What I love about this is the exclaimation at the end. Not to mention the emphasis! WILL cry out! Creation KNOWS, Creation was READY to jump in and shower Jesus with praise...so if creation gets it, what's our problem with doing so? Why are we so silent so often? Isn't creation groaning even now? Isn't creation going through troubled times even now? Isn't creation seeing what mankind's doing to it and doing in rebellion to God? Creation knows full well the impact of sin on it because of Adam and Eve. Creation knows. All creation from Adam, Eve, the serpent, to the ground received that curse on that day of the fall of mankind.
Yet when Jesus was here in person, creation was way more excited to see Him than the humans of the day. I often wonder at the smallest of things that my mind reads in the Bible. Like the colt that Jesus rode into town on. What crossed it's mind that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords was riding on it that day?
The palm branches that day that were used to wave at Jesus. The cloaks themselves of the people which were very much hand made that covered the road. They too wanted to cry out in joy. They KNEW what that day meant and what it meant to Jesus.
Jesus was excited for that day. Yet He wept because of how few, if any, knew what that day meant. Creation knew more than the people of the day. If it was at the right time that Jesus was born of a virgin in a manger, then it follows that it was at the right time that Jesus was arriving on this very day, this very hour, this very minute...and yet again...people didn't get it.
When Jesus returns...people aren't going to get it...but Creation WILL get it. Creation will know.
As it was in the days of Noah...so shall it be when the Son of Man returns. Creation KNEW what was coming in the days of Noah. Every single animal that had died, God knew of each and every one down to the last flea, ant, etc. Creation knows that Jesus keeps His Word.
Creation longs for the day when Jesus returns in ways we can't see nor imagine. Creation, in most cases has more faith than humans at the Word of God.
When Jesus returns it will be accompanied by a global earthquake. Why's that? Because Creation KNOWS.
What's interesting is towards the end of the book of Revelation, people will cry out for the rocks to fall on them. To hide them from He who sits upon the Throne. In our world today scientists try to explain away every aspect of creation to avoid considering that it was created in the first place.
Creation knows...but do you? Do you acknowledge Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Do you know Him as your Lord and Savior? If you do not, your next destination isn't going to be Heaven when you die. If you do not have salvation in Christ Jesus alone...then you've rejected Him. There is no in-between.
There's no 'not choosing' of either. You have either believed and received or you have denied and rejected. There's no slipping in on good behavior. No one could accumulate enough 'good behavior' to cover a single sin. We're born in sin so there's no amount of good behavior to remove that.
Jesus is coming again. Jesus is awaiting that day set by His Father to come back and get those who are His. The ground will open up, Creation will let go of all those held in its charge and then those who are alive will join them in the air and forever shall we be with Jesus. Creation will gladly give back the dead who have died in Christ over the centuries.
Christ will be magnified in His Creation and when all is said and done He WILL be magnified in all of eternity. It's a funny, different, way to look at having the faith of a mustard seed...when you consider the faith of a rock to cry out to Jesus in praise. One way or another there would be NO silence on that day of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Will you be crying out for joy on that day Jesus returns, or will you be here, seeing the carnage when those who have believed leave here...crying out yourselves for Jesus to return?
Jesus keeps His Father's timetable. Jesus keeps His word. Creation knows...and Creation awaits. Do you?
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