The Mighty One Knows

A quilt hangs on a ladder in my family room – a testament of a great-grandmother’s resourcefulness and skill. A ring around my finger is a witness to the world that one has pledged his love to me and I to him. An altar was built thousands of years ago beside the Jordan River – an imposing structure of stone – as a witness testifying that the LORD is God. A quilt. A ring. An altar. It’s this last visual symbol that has me perplexed and wondering. Quilts and rings have I, but is there anything in my life that is witness that God is who He is?

I could wear a cross around my neck, a fish sticker on my car, and a Bible in my arm, but would these testify that the LORD is God? I could volunteer my time at the nursing home, give money to charity or take a meal to a shut-in, but would these be witnesses that the LORD is God?

The answer to that question is found in the same place that I read about the altar, Joshua 21: “The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows!”

It all comes down to our hearts and our motives. I can run around serving others and dressing the part, but if I give out of duty or to make myself look good, then all of my actions are empty and meaningless – and construct an ugly altar to myself. They may fool a few people into believing that I’m a “good” person, but they don’t truly testify that the Mighty One is LORD.

Because He knows.

God is love, and the finest altar I can erect is one built with a heart and hands and mouth that truly love Him and are motivated to testify that the LORD is God. I can construct this unseen altar by acts of love and service, by volunteering my time, by giving money to those in need, and by verbally giving credit to Christ  . . . To some at a distance it may look the same as the altar I built to myself. But those being ministered to and those with discerning hearts will recognize it for what it is . . . a testimony that the LORD is God.  And above all, so will The Mighty One.

Because He knows.

The Mighty One Knows