BIG & SMALL by brent mills

Lately, we’ve been singing the song “Be Enthroned” (Jeremy Riddle/Bethel Music), and it has helped me gain deeper understanding of a concept I’ve wrestled with for years. The words to the chorus are:

Be enthroned upon the praises 

Of a thousand generations 

You are worthy Lord of all 

And unto You the slain and risen King  

We lift our voice with heaven 

Singing worthy Lord of all

The song invites us to “zoom out” in our perspective, recognizing that God has been working through many centuries of human history. It is my privilege to join my voice with the generations to offer praise to our Heavenly King.

I have always struggled to combine two concepts the Bible presents as truth. First, the Lord Jesus is the ultimate ruler over all, watching and caring for His creation from His throne in heaven. Many Old & New Testament Scriptures (and the words of this song) articulate this idea clearly. At the same time, there are numerous stories in the Gospels where Jesus demonstrated personal love for people -- He noticed individual needs, took interest in the details of people’s lives, and stopped what He was doing to touch and heal people. This combination of “big” and “small” in the character of Jesus is so completely unlike leaders in our earthly communities, it makes my head spin.

In our society, the more significant a person’s leadership role grows, the less personal connection he/she has with individuals - it simply isn’t possible for a leader to focus on big-picture issues and also stay connected to the personal issues of each and every one in the group. God, on the other hand, has the ability to both know and see every minute detail, while keeping the big picture in mind. Furthermore, the perspective God brings to the whole is infinitely larger than the long-term planning of any person, organization, or nation. Our long range plans might project 5 years, 10 years, or at most a generation into the future. Timelines beyond that exceed our capacities to look ahead and make realistic goals. God is not limited by this perspective … He is constantly thinking about the totality of history ... from the creation HE initiated, to the people HE formed from dust, to the rise and fall of civilizations over thousands of years, to HIS ultimate plan to bring people into covenant relationship with Him and execute His plan for victory over sin and death. And … while He’s overseeing billions of people in this long term story, He knows and loves each one of us intimately and personally.

So, how should I respond to God, knowing that He is perfect in both the “mega” and the “micro” levels of relationship? Jesus’s words in John 15 give a helpful blueprint:

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”John 15:4-5 (NIV)

Despite the cosmic plans and purposes of God, He knows I need to be in daily relationship with Him. I am powerless to control things in the large arena of leadership that God controls. Quite frankly, I am pretty powerless to control things in the small circle of my own life and relationships. My “smallness” requires that I stay continually connected to His “bigness” in order to succeed. Fortunately, God’s “bigness” does not diminish His capacity for loving relationship with me. Therefore, if I simply remain close to Him, I’ll be provided with the necessary strength to walk day by day, and I get to play a small role in the great story God is writing across the world.

May your worship of God this week be filled with big and small thoughts about Him …

Brent
bmills@b4church.org