The Holy Spirit often guided the authors of Scripture to a level of detail that is surprising. There are many examples. Genesis 6 provides a verbal schematic of Noah’s assignment, concluding that the work must be finished within 18 inches from the top. In the same way, Scripture provides us with the exact dimensions of the chest Moses built to contain the stone tablets, precise tabulations of the returning exiles in Nehemiah 7, an enumerated clan roster of King David’s troop strength in 1 Chronicles 12. The disciples caught 153 fish when Jesus told them to cast their nets to the other side. Someone with a good head for numbers counted the people who were saved on the day of Pentecost. Surely, the Spirit inspired numerical details so us mortals could grasp the proportions and provision of God.
HolmesAt other times, though, Scripture writers used language to stretch human boundaries. Carried along by the Holy Spirit, the authors often depicted things beyond the scope of our measurements. We know the universe exceeds the span of God, eternity past and eternity future defy our charts and time tables, the ways of God exist on a plane above our comprehension, the glories of heaven are indescribable. Everything cannot be quantified. It’s the “walking by faith” thing.
Lately, the benediction of Ephesians 3 has been on my personal screen. This is the prayer of immeasurably more, the promise that extends God’s provision to the outer reaches of our greatest needs or most creative moments. He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV). It is a prayer worth noting.
This is because ministry always occurs between the two extremes of hard numbers on the one hand, and the incalculable provision of God on the other. In some pressing circumstances, we can become so distracted by the human tote board that we no longer see or imagine the supply of God. Now is one of those times.
So, I’m thinking: “Immeasurably More.” This is the phrase I’ve selected as the theme for my year as president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. It is a central premise of Scripture, the idea of our prodigal God. It supports the mathematics of heaven and exposes the flimsiness of human calculation. God’s promise propels us to an economy far beyond the limits of what we can do. Reflecting on this ideal, I wonder why the arithmetic of subtraction, reduction, shortfalls, reversals and deficits get the headlines. It just doesn’t seem to fit. Unless we don’t believe that stuff anymore –
I’m praying for the grace to get this language back into our vocabulary – to talk about the windows of heaven, God’s generous provision, water from a rock, manna in the wilderness, 12 baskets of leftovers. This is a leap for me, the old accountant, with my red pencils, debits and credits, bottom lines, and liquidity ratios. Something in my old nature says: “Count, measure, compute, estimate.” The new person whispers: “Trust!”
You see, Jesus gave me a new nature. The economies of man just won’t hold up against what the Sovereign of all things can put on the table. Makes me think: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him and are called according to his purpose” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Unless we don’t believe that stuff anymore –
– Holmes is pastor of Northwood Baptist Church, North Charleston, and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.