The changing of the seasons with their vibrant color of the Fall, the beauty of harvest time as fields of Southern snow appear marking the maturing of the cotton plant, the haze that surrounds mountain tops and hills, the emerald color of ocean waters, the snow capped peaks, the lime colored leaves of emerging growth in the Spring, the indescribable beauty of a sunset and the diamond studded twinkle of the celestial bodies, all manifest the handiwork of our Creator. Job, that ancient believer that became the object of Satan’s wrath, knew so well the greatness and power of His God. Job’s so called friends were quick to cast accusations and question the genuineness of his faith, yet the man of God remained steadfast as He saw the creative and sustaining power of His Creator. Thus Job answered Bildad with these words --
… “Who (God) does great things, unfathomable, And wondrous works without number.”(Job 9:10 NASB)
Though the attacks of the Adversary surrounded Job, with an unshakeable faith, grounded on the revelation of God’s Word, he could say --
… “though he slay me, yet will I trust Him.”(Job 13:15 NKJV)
A faith that is grounded upon Truth can not shaken by those who seek to cast doubt upon the One who, when He said “I am,” caused the forces of evil to retreat. Today, as in past centuries, we see the attack on the Word of God by those who claim to possess a superior intellectual understanding. And indeed the so called “higher critics” may have greater intellectual capacities. However the Word of God is not discerned by intellectual prowess or perspicacity, but by faith. Thus man has made and continues to make claims that contradict Divine revelation. Who is right, man’s opinions and prognostications or God revealed Truth? You must decide that for yourself, but do consider that when God speaks on a subject through His Word, the evidence is overwhelming on His side. A perfect God is obligated by His own essence to communicate that which is perfect in its content. For example, man thought at one time that the earth was flat, yet God says that He created it a sphere. Man chose to ignore God’s prophet Isaiah though he wrote --
…“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.”(Isa 40:22 NIV)
Once again, the Scriptures state --
… “Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all! They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness. They say they are wise, but they are fools.”(Rom 1:20- 22 TEV)
The Apostle Paul instructs believers to be wise in Christ --
… “for in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”(Col 2:3)
Therefore we conclude that to be wise is to know Christ as one’s Savior by simple faith. Then the benediction of Jude becomes our hymn of praise --
… “to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”(Jude 25 NASB)