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The Bible teaches that God is awesome, He is higher, greater and majestic than we can ever imagine. In fact no one can even look upon God and live.
Why, even Indiana Jones understood that. When his arch enemy and Nazi,Rene Belloq, not only finds the sacred Ark of the Covenant, which in the O.T. was said to be the dwelling place of God, but also starts to open it, Indiana knows enough to respect it’s sacredness.
{Raiders of the Lost Ark clip - Chap. 29 - 1:44:04 - 1:47:11 = 3:07}
You see, while God is beautiful beyond our imagination, He also is so the Great I am! Man, as the created, cannot treat Him indifferently or apathetically.
There’s a scene in the movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone where the main character, Harry Potter, encounters an enchanted mirror, the mirror of Erised.
Earlier in the book we learned that Harry’s parents died when he was only a baby, and he was raised by his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, who showed no interest in Harry at all. He was forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs, and was regularly punished for things that happened that were beyond Harry’s control.
While away at Wizarding School, Harry encounters this enchanted mirror. Harry soon discovers that this mirror shows you your greatest desire. So as Harry gazes into the mirror, he sees himself standing with his parents. They are smiling at him in loving approval. When Harry’s friend Ron gazes into the mirror, he sees himself winning the championship at a Wizarding sporting event.
When one of Harry’s professors finds out that Harry has found the mirror, he tells Harry, “…It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts… The happiest man on earth would be able to use the mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is… However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth.” (Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: Scholastic, Inc. 1997) This mirror showed the characters what they wanted to see, not what actually existed.
Sometimes we trick ourselves into believing only what we want to believe, instead of believing the truth. It is no different that dwelling only on our faults, except to the other extreme. At one extreme, we tell ourselves that we have no faults, while at the other we tell ourselves that we have no redeeming qualities.
When we look into Scripture, we look into a mirror, a mirror that tells us the truth. Scripture, like a mirror, shows us what we are, both the good and the bad.
Notice what captures your imagination. What is that you dwell on when you’re alone? The movie In the Line of Fire, Clint Eastwood is asked “what do you see in the dark when the demons come.” What is it that draws our attention to itself? It may be our families, work or ...
Do you remember the Incredible Hulk? If you do you either remember the big green monster from the comics or the television show. Dr. Banner had a serious problem. In an experiment he had unleashed a terrible monster. In times of stress he would turn into this huge raging monster. One of the classic lines from the television program was "Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry." In the comics his destruction was much more vivid and much larger-than-life. This monster would pick up armored tanks and toss them at his enemies. He could stomp one his big green feet on the ground and cause a mini-earthquake that would knock his opponents to the ground. He could survive almost anything short of a nuclear blast all the time bellowing catch words like "Hulk strong! Hulk smash puny soldiers!" When the rampage was over, however, Dr. Banner was left to live with the results of the Hulk’s actions. His clothing was ripped to shreds so that he was exposed to the elements. His life was shattered into little pieces, and he had to move to a new location where he would attempt to start a new life.
Each of us has a raging Hulk in us. The sin nature that dwells within us attempts to bring about mass destruction in our lives. If we allow it to rule over us we will find ourselves like Dr. Banner, searching for some shred of our lives that we can cling to. Sin will destroy...
