‘And they’ll all say I’m not a Christian man
They’ll claim I wrote this song to sell
If they only knew about the things that I’ve gone through
They wouldn’t wish I’d burn in hell’
That chorus still gets to me. For the longest time I thought I’d never subscribe to ever using that line in a heated conversation – you know, where we say, ‘You don’t KNOW what I’ve been through!’
But here’s the thing – now that you think about it, do YOU even know what you’ve been through? I’m not telling you to downplay all the traumatic tragedies, nor am I trying to put you down even if you know of all the glorious victories you’ve seen or even experienced. I’ve learned earlier on, a consideration that’s kept me more or less grounded – that is, that even if you excel in something, there will always be someone better than you. It’s not to say that you should stop excelling, but seeing it in a positive light ought to inspire us to keep learning, keep practicing, and keep getting better.
But with what we’ve raised so far, I’m coming to another realization, another thought for consideration – that though we may claim to know everything there is to know about a particular situation, there will always be some inaccuracies and deviations. The Mandela Effect comes to mind. How I understand it is that if something is communicated to you long enough, or in ways that make it to your mind more efficiently, then you tend to believe it is true. I believe it’s called the Mandela Effect because for a moment we all thought that Nelson Mandela was dead, due to all the news about his passing, and/or the lack of any activity or words he’s shared as of late. Hell, I don’t even know if he’s still alive. But yeah, it comes to mind because I’m guilty of ‘fabricating’ details of my own past, that were more of less formed because I believed that’s how I recalled things happening in certain events. Long story short, sure, don’t believe everything I say.
We may claim to know everything there is to know about a particular circumstance – and the pain or pleasure that we felt during these times were so real that we would immediately lash out at anyone who does question us. Understandable. But in my own thinking about past mistakes I’ve made, or past blunders and assaults against me, the possibility, or rather the certainty of there being things here and there that we don’t know regarding these moments – well, it sort of comforts me.
I’ve gone through a lot, sure. I know as much as I know, but I know there’s more to know, maybe some stuff that I’m not supposed to know.
But He knows. There’s that one Nike shirt back in the day that Pacquiao Knows, but it’s God who really knows, and God who knows, really.
That’s really what gives me peace. I don’t have to know everything. God not only knows all there is to know, but He sent us Christ, just for us to know that regardless of what we know and what we don’t know, He knows all, and He knows He is for us.
So with this in mind, I would think twice about condemning myself, nor would I take any condemnation against me so personally. On the contrary, any criticism is now welcomed, because we have peace. And, indeed, this is a peace which Christ describes as a peace beyond understanding; It’s a peace that remains despite all we’re aware of and all we’re oblivious to – It’s a peace beyond knowing.
It’s a peace that remains even when we draw ridicule from rational minds, a peace that holds us together when we’re the ones who condemn ourselves. Again, a peace beyond understanding, a peace beyond knowing. It’s Christ’s peace that we have been given, and more than anything, it’s a Peace that we trust.
Psalm 139 continues:
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
As I was thinking about this, I couldn’t deny that we’ve had people born blind, maimed with physical and/or mental deformities. Is this to say that God knitted us this way? Two things I’d like to say in response to that.
First, I don’t blame God – I believe He is as it is said by our good brother James: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17); The Everlasting Father Of Lights (as Montell Fish creatively proclaims) is the origin of Life, and the life He begins, begins as good and perfect. No, folks, if we were to put the blame on anyone, or anything, it’s to be upon the nature of our reality, so flawed and so corrupted by sin which leads to death.
Second, with the full and complete salvation we’ve been given through Christ comes the renewing of our mind – and I firmly believe that the goodness of God has renewed our own minds, much so that we don’t prioritize who to blame, but look in earnest as to how Christ’s goodness and faithfulness would manifest. We take the stance of the blind man in John 9. They first wondered whose sin caused him to be born blind, and then, when they found out it was Jesus who healed him, they wasted no time in correcting his attribution, calling Jesus a sinner.
I still love his response. He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9:25)
In light of our appreciating how God is not only Mindful, but Present, I feel that it only follows that we appreciate Him as our very Precise God.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Since I began to care about photography I’ve noticed that the bottom line for most mainstream manufacturers of optical products, particularly cameras, is profit. They define a broader target market, and as such they prioritize efficiency in production – quantity over quality. As such, it’s very possible for entire batches of cameras to be recalled, due to a simple glitch or miscalculation in the automated system. I know of at least one camera series that was rolled out because there were so many products of the previous iteration returned due to oil leaking on the sensor.
I imagine this isn’t the case with European giant, Leica. Despite what other people say about their ridiculous prices, I think that they command such a meticulous system to adhere to their high standards – I imagine that if they had enough people to go over each and every camera once and twice over, they’d make that investment. My point is, if there were any Leica cameras returned, they would be more of isolated incidents compared to the widespread recalls of their more efficient competitors.
I say all of this just to point out that God doesn’t make us en masse – No, He takes all the time in the world; Yes, the Maker of Time and Space who is beyond Time and Space has taken all the time to ensure that each and every one of us is made according to the highest standards – His standards. That’s right – the same God whom we once said was not only Holy, but THRICE Holy – it’s according to His standards and His passion that we were made. Much so that we are given a greater picture in the following words of the Psalmist:
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.
He saw all aspects of our being, and He was aware of the concept of our existence long before we ever were. I used to rile people to awe, saying that our God knew the exact number of hairs of our head at any given moment – but here we see that our God is fully aware of all possibilities of our being with every day that we live. And just to imagine the grasp that God has over His reality! I mean, nowadays we can go the route of feeding scripts to an AI for it to illustrate what we want to see… But God doesn’t go that route! He who knows the end from the beginning knows every possibility of our existence, and every path we can take, from the moment we began to exist at conception!
Before we were, our good and glorious God already had volumes and entire books written regarding each and every day we would exist in this reality. Now I know we like to quote Jeremiah 29:11 a lot, but reading those famous words in light of all we’re looking at here gives me even more cause to praise our Lord – Why? Well, it’s not as if those plans the Lord has to prosper us and not to harm us are mere vocal contracts; No, I could imagine that our good and glorious God has long and detailed plans to give us a hope and a future – and I imagine each one of us has their own set of books with their own endless written volumes!
And here’s the Kicker – All of these plans, all of these days plotted out with all the possibilities? They were all sealed, and guaranteed to be plans to prosper us and not to harm us – through no less than our savior, Jesus Christ!
Now I also like to quote Romans 1:20, especially where it states that the great glory of God is evident in all that He has created; That is, we see the goodness and the greatness of our God in the greatest and brightest of stars, down to the smallest of particles. Let it not be said that we do not of God – on the contrary, through His creation, we will see His glory.
But in all that we’ve been writing so far, notice how the Psalmist says in the middle of all of it:
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
This leads me to see another perspective of God’s glory… For, see, if God’s glory is seen in all creation, and if we marvel at how we were created so mindfully, each and every one of us so precisely created and designed by God, there is no doubt that the thought of God’s glory is also seen as we are created! In other words, God’s glory is seen outside our being, and it’s also seen within!
Friends, this just goes to show how much we are loved – God created us with such precision, leaving nothing to chance. And what’s more is that even if sin had its way with us, as far back as the first moment of our existence in this reality, God CONTINUES to leave nothing to chance. Why? Two last things before I close:
First, in spite of sin and death reigning over this reality, Christ has ensured the Holy Spirit moving in each and every one of us, according to our standing with God: “concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”John 16:9-11
Second, no matter what happens to us, or whatever we make happen, God is faithful to work it all for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
In His infinite wisdom and lovingkindness our very precise Creator has taken all measures to ensure His absolute care is upon each and every one of us according to how we are created and how things are going… absolutely. We have nothing but thanks to give to our Lord Jesus Christ for making this possible for our minds to grasp and receive.
Until the next post, God bless you.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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