Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

As I sat down to tackle this week’s blogging question I had to take a moment and “put in check” my upbringing (conservative Christianity) and my pedigree (stoic Scandinavian) in order to really wrap my mind around the concept of “boasting” about human achievements and accomplishments. That’s not a natural thing for me to do. I tend to always want to boast about God and downplay the role of humanity.

But here is my best attempt to reflect on what God is teaching me through Joshua’s sermon on Sunday and as I study and reflect on the His Word this week through the summer devotional guide.

There are two ideas that come to mind when I reflect on the accomplishments and achievements of humanity and how they reflect on the greatness of the One who created us. The first comes from the life arena of modern medicine.

As many of you know, the past year has been a very challenging one for my sister. She was diagnosed with kidney cancer late last summer and has gone through a very long and difficult journey. However, by God’s grace she is surviving the battle and should enjoy many years of productive living.

As I look back over the past 10 months I marvel at all of the medical advancements that were used to save her life. When we learned that she had to have a kidney removed I was amazed that a person can live without one of their kidneys. When another tumor was discovered next to her spine the tumor was not only removed, the doctors also performed reconstructive surgery on her spine – with metal rods and screws – I couldn’t quite fathom it! As I think about the human ingenuity, knowledge and skill needed to perform all these medical procedures I am amazed at how God has created us and how humanity’s countless accomplishments are truly a reflection of God’s greatness.

The second arena of human accomplishments and achievements that teaches me about the greatness of the One who created us, is the way in which humans love and serve one another.

The past several days 20 individuals (high school students and adults) from the Woodcrest family have been ministering to the people of Belize, Central America. This group has shown the love of Jesus to people they had never met before by, performing manual labor, teaching vacation bible school, sharing their faith and countless other activities. While they may not define their accomplishments as “great” I see them as extra-ordinary and truly reflective of the One who created them.

Yes, God does deserve all of the glory for our world’s many great accomplishments and achievements – but when we rightly “boast” about these accomplishments they serve as a powerful reminder of His greatness.

Pete Parker
Executive Pastor
Woodcrest Church