When we show our faith in God,
we show others how Faithful and Strong and Worthy of Praise He truly is!
"Your daddy is standing in a swimming pool out a little
bit from the edge.
You are, let’s say, three years old and standing on the edge
of the pool.
Daddy holds out his arms to you and says, “Jump, I’ll catch you. I
promise.”
"Now,
how do you make your daddy look good at that moment?
Answer: trust Him and
jump. Have faith in him and jump.
That makes him look strong and wise and
loving.
But if you won’t jump, if you shake your head and run away from the
edge,
you make your daddy look bad. It looks like you are saying, “he can’t
catch me”
or “he won’t catch me” or “it’s not a good idea to do what he tells
me to do.”
And all three of those make your dad look bad.
But you don’t want to make God look bad.
So you trust him.
Then you make Him look good–which He really is."
"And
that is what we mean when we say,
“Faith glorifies God” or “Faith gives God
glory.”
It makes Him look as good as He really is.
So trusting God is really
important."
"And
the harder it seems for him to fulfill his promise, the better he looks when
you trust him.
Suppose that you are at the deep end of a pool by the diving
board.
You are four years old and can’t swim, and your daddy is at the other
end of the pool.
Suddenly a big, mean dog crawls under the fence and shows his
teeth and growls at you
and starts coming toward you to bite you.
You crawl up
on the diving board and walk toward the end to get away from him.
The dog puts
his front paws up on the diving board.
Just then, your daddy sees what’s
happening and calls out,
“Johnny, jump in the water. I’ll get you.”
"Now, you have never jumped from one meter high
and you can’t
swim
and your daddy is not underneath you
and this water is way over your head.
How do you make your daddy look good in that moment?
You jump."
"And
almost as soon as you hit the water, you feel his hands under your arms
and he
treads water holding you safely while someone chases the dog away.
Then he
takes you to the side of the pool."
"We give glory to God when we trust him to do what He has promised to
do
especially when all human possibilities are exhausted."
"Faith glorifies God."
Pictures: Karen Pilling
Quote: John Piper
Illustration from his sermon entitled: Faith: In Hope, Against Hope, for the Glory of God.
Text: Romans 4:16-21
