They say that life is about progress.
In many ways that is true. We continue to get better, to develop more skills. But the truth of the matter is that our lives get full. So full, in fact, that they cannot hold more.
But “more” keeps coming. More demands, more potential projects, more and more — everything. Things that used to occupy space in our lives get moved aside by things that we now have to make space for. Progress? Probably, in many cases.
I used to spend a couple of hours each morning practicing karate. I’d run through every one of my katas, which are a sort of a pre arranged drill, for about an hour. Then my son and I would train together. That time has been replaced by writing time, and these daily devotionals are the fruit of that effort. I see that as progress for a number of reasons. First of all because these daily words of encouragement and instruction touch far more lives. But also because the subject of Christ is of much more importance than any other. I miss my daily workouts, but no one can do everything.
Well, ALMOST, no one.
Today’s verse says:
HE IS ABLE TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST THOSE WHO COME TO GOD THROUGH HIM
The “He” being referred to in this verse, of course, is none other than Jesus the Messiah.
And, unlike you and I, He is not limited by His life “filling up.”
I have read from the works of a respected physicist who analyzed the Scriptures from the perspective of the dimensions described. When we consider our lives, we operate in only four dimensions. Those dimensions are height, length, width, and time. Those dimensions enable (and also limit) the things that we are able to perceive. But the physicist of whom I’ve wrote said that, from the perspective of physics and dimensions, he perceives that God must be operating in no less than eleven dimensions. He is also quick to point out that God likely operates in more dimensions than that, however we cannot perceive them.
To clarify that point, let’s consider the impact the addition of even a single dimension can make.
If we consider a creature that operates only in two dimensions, all they could see is width and length. These two dimensional creatures would have no concept of height. We operate in more dimensions. What that means is, since we have access to the dimension of height, as we interact with them we would see an entire aspect of their world that they cannot see.
So, for example, if I put the fingers of my hand on top of their world, they would only perceive little circles. They’d perceive how LONG the circles were, and they could conceive how WIDE the circles were. But they would have absolutely no concept that, above the circles they see, those “circles” are actually fingers ! And because they have no concept of the fingers, they would have absolutely no potential to understand that the fingers actually join together and operate as a single hand.
When you add in just one dimension, all of that becomes very clear, plain, and quite easy to see. However, there’s just no way to even conceive of it without that dimension.
When God is operating in multiple dimensions of time and space that we do not, dimensions we cannot even begin to perceive; He is able to do things in ways we have no means to comprehend.
Because we know from Scripture that He is omnipresent, that He is in every place at every time, His life never gets “full”. He always has more time. He always has the capacity to interact with me as if I were the only person in the universe. While at the same time operating with you as if you were the only person in the universe. We are restricted to a single element of time. We are where we are and ONLY where we are. And we are only there at that particular moment of time. We may choose to remain someplace for a multiple group of time periods , but once we leave, we’re gone.
God doesn’t face that limitation. God is everywhere. He also is every WHEN. There is no place and at no time that He does not exist. There is no time you can consider where God was not present in every place you can consider. So Christ was present with you at the best moments of your life, and at its darkest and most painful times as well. He was there, and He was there “then” at every peak and valley. You’ve never been alone, He’s always been with you.
You may not have perceived His presence, but He was there none the less. And because Christ has never left you …
HE IS ABLE TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST THOSE WHO COME TO GOD THROUGH HIM
He is never late, because there is never a time He isn’t everywhere. He is never surprised by the plans of the enemy, because the enemy cannot hide from Him, not even when he is plotting against you. And so no weapon formed against you can ever prosper, because it can never surprise God.
The life of Christ is never “too full,” so He never has to give up something to make room for something else. I might miss doing karate, but there is nothing God ever did that He ever has to stop doing. So there are never any skills they get “rusty” with God.
When you and I bring our particular mix of crises and sins to Jesus in faith, HE IS ABLE TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST THOSE WHO COME TO GOD THROUGH HIM. He never lacks the skill to deal with anything we bring.
Jesus never looks at someone’s sin, scratches his beard and thinks to Himself, “Yeah I used to be really good at dealing with that. But that was a while ago, it’s been some time. Hmmm, I don’t quite remember how to handle that one.”
HE IS ABLE TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST THOSE WHO COME TO GOD THROUGH HIM
Every sin. Every issue. Every problem. Every time. In fact, all of the time.
He never leaves you, never forsakes you. He is always with you. And we, like the little creatures of two-dimension world, cannot even begin to comprehend how that could possibly be. But that is OK, because His capacity is neither enabled nor limited by our understanding. In other words, He doesn’t need us to understand.
So God asks us to trust Him. He demonstrates His absolute love in sending Christ. He has repeatedly demonstrated His power, His authority, His miracles — and asks us to simply have faith that His love is sufficient. And, when we cannot comprehend the “why” of something, He calls us to fall back on the Who that has allowed it. The one that has promised to work ALL THINGS together for our good because we love Him; even those things that we cannot possibly comprehend.
He is well able to do that.
HE IS ABLE TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST THOSE WHO COME TO GOD THROUGH HIM
