Sunday, February 19, 2006

The Two Towers...


Ok, Back to the Tower of Babel. If you don't know the story it's about men that lived after the great flood who gathered together to build this giant tower in Babel so that they could impress the world and make a name for themselves.

So if you remember the last post it seems that my perception of why God divided the people working on the Tower of Babel (I thought it was because they were trying to build it into Heaven) and the real reason God divided the people did not line up, which led me to a crises of belief. This trip through Genesis opened up for me the fact that the real reason was because men were building a structure that would give THEM glory and power on Earth ("let us make a name for ourselves" 11:4).

A line in this passage popped out at me for the first time...Genesis Chapter 11 verse 6 says "now nothing they propose to do will be witheld from them". Now, God did not say that He was not going to withold it from them, obviously He did so by dividing them into different language. But He said that without divine intervention this project would succeed!

This speaks volumes to my heart. It tells me that the potential for human accomplishment is huge! The will to accomplish goals, to create, to build, to have a massive vision is within reach of who we are as humans. Have you ever asked God to give you a vision for your future? Have you ever thought about how faith in a Creator relates to what you have the ability to accomplish in your life? Most people haven't. Maybe we should think again.

It also tells me that God looks primarily at the motives for our work. I have a suspicion that if God would have looked upon the tower and looked into the heart of the project team and saw a desire and pursuit to bring God honor rather than themselves He would have said, "Go ahead men, build the most amazing tower that has ever been on the face of the Earth." I suspect that God would have picked up a trowel and some mortar and laid some bricks with these guys. God wants our absolute best and He created us with an ability to perform! Let me be crystal clear that He doesn't value us differently based on our performance, but He longs for us to reach our potential. I have to ask myself this question every single morning as I start my day..."What is my motives for accomplishment today?...I mean REALLY! Who am I doing this thing called life for?"

I encourage you to think it through. If you decide that you want to choose to pursue stardom as the men of Babel it's your prerogative. As for me, I have determined to live it for the one to whom the honor belongs. If you choose the same I'll pick up trowel and some mortar and we'll lay some brick.

just a thought...

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