Have you ever stopped to think about where we are, right now? I mean, really stop and ponder the fact that we were not here before, we are here for a very short time and then we are not. I’ve thought about this a thousand times but never contemplated the perspective that we are living in a temporary story in the creation of God – God’s house. In other words, we are simply house guests for a certain period of time. We don’t own the forests, the roads, and especially the materials that make up the roads, homes, etc. We think that we own our homes, our cars, clothes, and such but the fact is, everything is borrowed from the original creation for a temporary blink in His story. When I stopped to think about the fact that we were not made until the 6th day, I wondered…how important are we, really? He intended for us to manage his home, tend to the gardens and watch over the animals. But look at us now, you would think that WE own the place. This writing is prompted by a talk on this same topic and he said “if he had made us first, we would have been telling God how to make the trees and not to put things over there and on and on we would “direct” him with our way – not His.” We chuckle at that thought but isn’t that so true with our lives?
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” – Genesis 1:26
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”– Genesis 1:28
If we were all to believe that we are truly temporary house guests of God – living in His creation and not ours, do you think we would want to change our behavior at all? Do you think we would pay more attention to our actions and be more careful with the things around us and the people we encounter during this visit? Like any house guest, the longer the visit, the easier it is to take the host for granted.
Let’s assume that our day was God’s way of throwing us a party for several hours. He gives us this incredible gift of light filled with beautiful surroundings and activities and requires us to rest at night just to get back up and be entertained with another party! If we thought that this was the greatest party in the history of the universe, would we show up late to greet Him? Would we nonchalantly take our time getting to the party or would we be so anxious and excited about it we would arrive a little early? Would we offer to help with the festivities or greet the other guests as they arrived if we knew that this was the creator’s party? Would we get drunk and act like fools or would be our absolute best? Isn’t this truly His party? Didn’t He intend for us to have the most wonderful lives among a beautiful garden and expect us to manage His house for Him? And with that acknowledgment, don’t most of us make basically the same choice today that we did in the beginning. Most of the time, we choose our way over His way. We can make our way seem so logical, natural, responsible, even righteous at times but if it’s not His way – we are only fools among the greatest party ever.
God has given us THIS – look around. WE didn’t do THIS. We are a temporary house guest and party guest. What type of impression do you want to leave the host when you are gone? Would He be pleased with your attendance and your contribution? I know that I have certainly not been the best house guest at times but I am alive in the Lord today and I wake up delighted and anxious to be going to the greatest party ever…enjoying the other guests and festivities.
