A Pastor’s Perspective

“Bigger and Better” by Mike Hill, pastor of Calvary Chapel Aberdeen (mjhill@ida.net)

 My old house had shrunk.  The elementary school I attended sure seemed smaller than what I remember.  In reality, the house and school hadn’t changed.  I had.  Reminds me of a story. 

In the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, children enter into another dimension through a closet.  The world they discover, Narnia, is under a curse cast by the white witch which keeps this once-beautiful world in a perpetual winter.  King Aslan, a gigantic and majestic lion, allows himself to be bound and put to death by the white witch and her goonies.  Initially, the evil crew believes they have won the victory over the King.  To their surprise, however, Aslan rises from the dead.  He restores Narnia back to its Eden-like beauty.   

Story sound familiar?  The King of Kings, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, died for our sins upon the Cross.  Satan thought he had the victory, but Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and broke the chains of sin and of death.   He will return in glory to rule and reign in righteousness. 

Lucy, one of the main characters in Lewis’ story, in a burst of exuberant joy, falls into the mighty paws of the conquering King Aslan.  As she gazes upon his face, his flowing mane, and mighty stature, she exclaimed, “You’re bigger!”  Aslan responds, “That is because you are older, little one.”  Lucy asks, “Oh, it’s not because you are bigger?”  Aslan answers, “No I am not.  But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”  As Lucy and the other children spend more time in Narnia, Aslan appears to grow more and more.  But Aslan doesn’t change.  The children's perception changes.  Each experience they have with Aslan helps them grow in their understanding of who he really is.   

It may look like God grows bigger.  He appears better than before.  It seems, at times, that God changes.  However, just as my house, the elementary school, and Aslan remained the same, the Bible says God remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  He's the One “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8b). What changes then?  Our perception of God.  As we experience God through His Word, we grow in our understanding of Who He really is. 

How big is God?  Consider the size of the universe.  Our Milky Way galaxy is claimed to contain some  200 billion stars.  Apparently there are hundreds of billions of galaxies.  And some estimate that the universe may be156 billion light years wide.  My mind can’t wrap around such numbers and sizes, but God’s hand is able.  God said, “My right hand hath spanned the heavens…” (Isaiah 48:13).  God is big!  And did you know that this God is not too busy running the universe to think about you?  King David was so blown away by God’s intimate involvement in his own life that he wrote, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,the moon and the stars, which You have ordained,what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? (Psalm 8:3-4 NKJV). 

This same God who created and upholds all things cares about you.  The Creator has even “visited” this planet 2000 years ago to show us how much He cares.  And, He’ll become bigger and better to us as we trust Him to forgive our sins and empower us in whatever challenge we face in life.  We’ll change as we see Him as He really is.  “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).