Not Too Big To Be Small

“Though the LORD [be] high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.” (Ps 138:6 AV)

Looking at the definition of the word ‘…respect…’, I cannot help but to be impressed with the LORD’s attitude toward the lowly.  Space hinders me from giving the entire definition as found in Strong’s numbers, but to boil it down to a succinct definition, I would say it means that God observes, searches, perceives, and then considers the person of the lowly.  This is no small thing.  God is infinite in size and quality.  He possesses all His attributes infinitely and equally.  There are no bounds as to what the LORD is.  That which He is, He is without measure.  Solomon testifies of this in his prayer for the temple.  The heaven of heavens cannot contain God.  The material universe which God created is, but a speck compared to the person of God.  It is smaller than the smallest atom when compared to the vastness of who and what He is.  To say that a being who is infinite in size and scope is delicate enough to respect the lowly is something that boggles the mind.

It amazes me when I learn about something man accomplishes under the strongest microscope.  Scientist at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology were able to write the entire Bible of 1.2 million letters onto a disk no larger than the tip of a pen.  The only way to read it is with an electron microscope.  To accomplish such a feat would take genius abilities from multiple individuals.  I hear of surgeries that can be done at the cellular level.  If I am not mistaken, there was a technique used on several patients, of which I was aware, wherein several intersecting laser beams performed an oblation on single-cell groups with a patient to destroy harmful tissue.  Another example is the artifacts we sometimes see on Antiques Roadshow.  Whether it is a six-hundred-year-old clay sculpture, a four-hundred-year-old crystal lamp, a two-thousand-year-old Chinese vase, or a hand-written document dating back to the middle ages, I am amazed at how generations of owners handled these pieces with the delicacy required to guarantee their value.  Then there are the health care workers in NICU who must handle premature babies with the carefulness of balancing an egg from ten feet in the air.  Every movement could do serious or fatal damage to that young life.

We can see the tenderness, carefulness, and skill mentioned above.  The principle is certainly understood.  Yet the scope isn’t even close.  When the sinner or saint comes to God completely crushed by the weight of his own sin, trials of life, or persecutions from the adversary, God handles us with delicacy and respect that we cannot even begin to understand.  Sometimes, we forget just how great God is, yet He still works with finite beings.  We forget how mighty God is, yet willing to condescend to men of low estate.  We forget how infinitely greater He is, yet His heart breaks with our pain.  God is not out to destroy anyone.  His offer of mercy and grace are to all!  No exceptions.  The tenderness of the LORD is open to all who call upon His name.  God is not too big to become small.  God is not so far above us that He is unable to come down to us.  When I read the underlined portion of our passage, I am comforted to know that no matter how great God is, He can still fix me and comfort me without crushing me.  I see love.  I see concern.  I see patience.  I see tenderness.  I see a miracle!