Seven billion and counting...

As iron sharpens iron,

          so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 NIV

As I type this message, Worldmeters.com reports the world’s population to be 7,003,342,136 people and counting. The number changes almost as quickly as the eye can comprehend it. Amazing…

I have to believe that these numbers are merely speculative. I mean, how could an organization keep up with all of the births and deaths in the world as this very moment? No one is that good. No one that is, except for God. He knows everything about every one of us.

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Luke 12:7

One

Consider this: God could have created 7,003,342,136 different universes instead of the one that we have. Each one of those seven billion universes would have a total population of 1. He could have stopped with Adam, and then created another universe for Eve. And so on, and so on. Sounds a bit absurd, doesn’t it? You know what? If it had been His plan to create all those universes, we wouldn’t have known the difference, and we would’ve been perfectly happy in our own little worlds.

Just think about it for a moment…

We’d have no enemies. There’d be no prejudice. No envy. No greed. No bragging. No competition. No murder. No rape. No robbery. Hmm… Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

But wait…

We’d also have no friends. No dads. No moms. No husbands or wives. No sons or daughters. No mentors. No confidants. No one to love. No one to love us back. We’d have no one at all. Hmm…

I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t sound good to me at all; no, not good at all.

This notion kind of changes your perspective a bit, doesn’t it? Aren’t you glad that He decided to create one earth with over seven billion people in it? I thought so. J

His plan.

Here’s the thing: There are several reasons that God carried out His plan for us the way that He did, including family, friends, and companionship. I feel though, that there’s another reason that we either forget about or never realize at all…

We can’t make it in this world by ourselves.

No offense intended, but I don’t care how smart, or strong, or courageous, or determined you are. You just can’t do it by yourself.

Yes, I believe with all that is in me that God can provide us with everything that we need. In less time than the blink of an eye, He can enlighten us, comfort us, provide for us, and make everything just right. Still, He chooses not to. He wants us to turn to others for help because it’s part of His plan for us.

Wouldn’t you agree that seeking others for help is an instinct that we’re born with? We look to our parents for food, shelter, and guidance. We love to them for love. We look to them for protection.

As we’re growing up, we’re encouraged to think for ourselves, to do for ourselves, and to take responsibility for our own lives. This is a good thing, right?

The problems arise when we think that we have to do it all on our own. We have to solve our problems, ease our hurts, and work through our “issues” all by ourselves. We have to, or we choose to, “figure it out” alone. We can’t let anyone else in because it’d be too embarrassing, or a sign of weakness, or because our dignity or pride would suffer.

Thanksgiving

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. For the past few days I’ve been reflecting on the amazing people that God has placed in my life, and I’ve been truly overwhelmed during the process.

Tomorrow I’ll give thanks for the blessings in my life. I’ll thank God for His presence in my life, for filling me with His Spirit, and for sacrificing His Son for me. I’ll thank Him for my incredible wife Jackie, for our amazing family, our friends, and all the others things that I traditionally give thanks for at Thanksgiving.

Today, as I write this, I’m reflecting on all the people that God has placed in my life before this moment. I’m offering thanks for every individual who has loved me, nurtured me, cared for me, helped me, inspired me, been honest with me, taught me, encouraged me,   challenged me to be more, and led me towards Jesus. I’m grateful for the iron that has sharpened my iron.  

I’m ever so thankful that His plan was to create one earth with seven billion people (and counting) on it.

I’m thankful to be.