A Man Who Showed Up
Recently I heard a man describe his grandpa, who had passed away, as a man he deeply respected, someone who had shaped his life in significant ways. He went on to describe the ways he had shaped and directed his life, things like teaching him how to drive, and showing him what it means to care for his family. One phrase he shared that really struck me was, “He was a man who showed up.” I thought that was such a powerful way to be remembered, especially in an age where so many are checked out. Even though they might be present physically, they are often absent mentally, staring down at another world, absorbed with people they don’t know and will never meet instead of engaging with those right in front of them. That phrase “he showed up” has embedded within it many other attributes, things like faithfulness, dependability, honor, integrity, follow-through, consistency, and ultimately, love. These are all attributes we would want used to describe us as well!
Sunday, Colby walked us through some of the attributes of God. I appreciated the way he emphasized God’s unity, how He can’t be divided up into His individual parts. Many are tempted to over-emphasize the aspects of God they prefer, and under-emphasize, or even outright deny, the parts they dislike. This is making God in our image, rather than honoring Him for who He says He is. We wouldn’t want others to do that to us, and we shouldn’t do that with God.
I also appreciated something else Colby said (I’m paraphrasing from the notes I scribbled down), “Since God doesn’t need anything, He gives everything purely motivated by grace and love…. God does not need you, but he wants you, and it’s better to be wanted than needed.”
Some have the view of God that He created us because He was lonely and needed us to make Him happy and somehow complete Him. But when we looked at the Trinity the week before, we saw that God has had perfect unity and love for all eternity within the Trinity. He doesn’t need us or anything else to complete Him since He is already perfect. If you’re unmarried and looking for a spouse, you’ve already seen that the last person you want to end up with is someone on the needy end who is completely depending on you for their happiness. That’s a disaster waiting to happen! But God loves us from a place of strength, able to pour out from the overflow of his eternal love and joy.
This week we will look at the topic of the Bible. Of course, we look in the Bible every week, but this week we’re going to focus on the Bible as the main subject: how we should view it and how it came together as we have it today. If knowing God is loving God, then knowing the Bible is the way we come to know God, and how we view the Bible determines how we view God, so it’s really important.
Valley View is a Bible-believing, Spirit-filled, Christ-centered church that is eagerly expecting the Holy Spirit to move and advance the Gospel all across PRP, Prairie Village, Valley Station, and the entire South End of Louisville. May God use us to advance His Kingdom!