Telescopes or Microscopes - Pt 1

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. (Psalm 69:30-31 ESV).

The Bible is full of encouragement to be thankful. Our reading today is a psalm of David. He says, "I will magnify God with thanksgiving" (v. 30). The word "magnify" can be used in two different senses. It can mean: make something appear greater than it is, as with a microscope or a magnifying glass. Or it can mean make something that may seem small or insignificant appear to be as great as it really is. This is what our great telescopes help us begin to do with the magnificent universe which once upon a time spilled over from the brim of God's glory. So there are two kinds of magnifying: microscope magnifying and telescope magnifying. The one makes a small thing look bigger than it is. The other makes a big thing look as big as it really is. When David says, "I will magnify God with thanksgiving," he does not mean: "I will make a small God look bigger than he is. He means: "I will make a big God begin to look as big as he really is." We are not called to be microscopes, but telescopes. Christians are not called to be marketing experts who magnify their product out of all proportion to reality, when they know the competitor's product is far superior. There is nothing and nobody superior to God. And so the calling of those who love God is to make his greatness begin to look as great as it really is. The whole duty of the Christian can be summed up in feeling, thinking, and acting in a way that will make God look as great as he really is. Be a telescope for the world of the infinite starry wealth of the glory of God. That God is great in every way that greatness is to be valued should be obvious to everyone. As the Apostle Paul says, Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So men are without excuse for, although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks. (Romans 1:20-21). It ought to be obvious. But it isn't, due to the sinful insensitivity and forgetfulness of our hearts. Many of God's greatest attributes and most awesome and loving deeds pass in one ear and out the other without causing the slightest ripple of emotion within our hearts. Seeing we do not see, and hearing we do not hear. Be intentional this month as we approach Thanksgiving to be one who magnifies the Lord with gratitude in all of your circumstance.