(Part 2/3 – A summary of the Sunday morning teaching on 06-Sep-15, in AFT Church, English service. From the series The Foundation For Victorious Living)
1. A LOVE THAT KNEW US AS INDIVIDUALS
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
Psalm 139:15-16 (New King James Version)
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
Psalm 139:15-16 (The Message)
In this Psalm, King David expresses his wonder and amazement at how he was crafted in his mother’s womb. He also praises this God who knew how every day of his life on earth would span out even before he was born. As He knitted David in his mother’s womb, God saw him as an individual. He was creating a musician, songwriter, shepherd, a king and a man after His own heart. God was shaping David’s life to bring glory to His name.
Now, before we gloss over the Psalm assuming that it is only about King David, let me remind us that it applies to each one of us. The Creator God carefully sculpted, crafted, designed and fashioned each one of us so that we would lead our lives for Him. If He went to such great lengths to create us and demonstrate His love for us, we can be certain that He is not going to abandon us. There is no problem or difficulty in this world that can overwhelm or crush us. We can trust our future into His hands.
2) A LOVE THAT KNEW HOW COMPLEX WE ARE
There are numerous studies and researches that show the complexity of a human body and mind. Let me tell you about two such studies.
A Mathematician studied the process of formation of a child. He noted that a fetus’ heart develops in 25 days, the arms and hands in 32 days and the retina and eyes in 52 days. In the end, he concluded that the complexity of these things were beyond comprehension. He said that is magical, mysterious and divine.
Another time, a brain surgeon demonstrated the process involved in hearing and responding. He asked the audience a very simple question and they responded in a heartbeat. He then backtracked and took them step by step through the actual process. The sound of his question entered their ears, reached the brain, was decoded, was understood and was finally responded to within a second. But he took a long time to explain the whole complex procedure! It is indeed engineering of a high level. Doesn’t that leave us in appreciation for the wonderful way our God has made us?
3) A LOVE THAT KNEW OUR UNIQUENESS
Many a time, we want to be like somebody else. Very rarely are we satisfied with our identity. But may I remind us that God has created each one of us uniquely. Psalm 139:16 says, ‘Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them’. Our uniqueness is not something that we grow into or attain after we graduate or start working. God imprinted us with a unique identity and individuality right at our conception.
Not so sure?
Well, let’s look at one incident in the Bible which testifies about the stamping of God’s individuality right from the time of conception.
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Luke 1:39-44
While she was pregnant with Jesus, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. Now Elizabeth was also expecting a baby. As soon as Mary greeted her cousin the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy. Elizabeth’s baby was John the Baptist. His whole life’s purpose was to be a forerunner for Jesus. God imprinted John’s unique identity and purpose on him even as he was crafted together in his mother’s womb. He recognized this unique purpose whilst in the womb and at the sound of Jesus’ mother’s voice, he leapt joyously. How incredible is that!
…to be continued…
