Einstein spoke of another dimension which he said could not be conceptualized in the mind but could be proved mathematically!
It's all a bit difficult to grasp for an average person such as myself but I do know that God exists in an unseen dimension and can change equations and rearrange the math in our lives!
Jesus said that if we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness all that we need will be added to us. Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes! He also said that those who try to save their lives will lose them and all that a person has can be taken from him (subtraction).
I thought saving my life would lead to addition?!
God transcends all of the math, science and philosophical principles of man and everything we see, feel and think we know is subject to Him!
This is the crux of our problem when we define "reality." Our perception of reality is based on our senses and much of the time they are reliable enough. The sum of what we believe is the basis for how we act.
For example, many base much of what they do on a certain principle which states, "There ain't no such thing as free lunch," This means of course that anything we get in life will be through our own efforts and no one is really going to give us anything for free!
Some hold to other life philosophies such as "Take care of number one." or "God helps those who help themselves." Still others believe in something akin to "karma" or "good luck."
The problem with all of these "mantras" which we live by is that they leave one huge factor out of the equation - God!
We think God will understand if we are lonely and commit adultery, steal if we are hungry or lie to keep our jobs. At the point and time these decisions are made, we claim that we had no choice but to disobey God.
As a fellow sinner, I can empathize with those who feel that way. But from God's perspective, there are always other options! It is not that 2+2 doesn't equal 4; it is that God can make 2+2 equal 5!
This is not about debating whether God would literally alter the principles of math. It concerns how allowing God his rightful place in the equations of life changes everything! The giver receives more than the miser! The meek inherit the earth rather the fittest surviving! Love is mightier than hate and waiting is more powerful than action.
The Bible is full of examples of those who ran out of options, but by allowing God back in the equation, 2+2 equaled 5!
The three Hebrews refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's idol. They were threatened with death by fiery furnace! That's about as much pressure as I can imagine. Many would suggest that they should just bow to the idol. God would surely understand that no one could be expected to resist that kind of pressure!
The equation was pure, simple and easy to understand and the solution obvious. Command to bow + refusal = fiery furnace! Flesh + burning + pain = just say no!
Command + compromise = comfort and living to face another day.
Refusal = Screaming, burning torture! Compromise = approval of others, rest and avoiding all of the aforementioned!
It's a no brainer, right?
But these Hebrew men had the courage to resist and believe in a different outcome based on an unknown equation:
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."
These were men who had made up their minds ahead of time that God's accounting is superior to man's! Nebuchadnezzar was confident that he had added it up correctly. It was an extremely simple equation! Threat + Furnace = compliance! His math was sure and it was a given that no man would dare say no to the power of this kind of threat. But the three Hebrews did!
When we claim we had no other option, God responds by saying, "You could have called on Me. You could have trusted in me like these men and countless like them did!"
"I had a bad day; I had to get drunk." "I had to give in or I would have been killed." "I had to kill that innocent man - otherwise they would have tortured me."
I'm sure we can all sympathize with the kind of pressure these situations bring and how obvious it must be to some that in many situations, we have no choice to do the wrong thing. But in truth, the many who refused to bow are witnesses that God can change the equation.
"He had to kill - he was mentally ill." The truth is that many have suffered the torments of mental illness without killing!
In every situation, there may be an obvious solution and then there is also God's solution. If a super hero's girlfriend was confronted by the most dangerous, wicked criminals in the city, she would not stand a chance under normal circumstances. But if Superman, Spiderman or Batman was her boyfriend - the equation would change! All of us know that the criminals would be about to be receive a severe beat down!
If calling on superman would change the equation, how much more the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?
You and I don't have to be bound by the shortsighted equations created by the world!
Put God back in the equation and you will see a whole new world of possibilities!
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