ghop vum - Handiwork

The expanse shows Daj ghop vum. Ps 19:1b

The expanse shows his handiwork.

(click for podcast version)

I've got an Altoids tin. To be honest, I've actually got lots of them. Like many people, I've found those sturdy little containers are just too handy to throw away. They're great for collecting odds and ends, and I've used them for that.

But I'm thinking of a very specific tin - it was one the smaller Altoids chewing gum tins. It doesn't really look much different from their gum tins.... except if you turned it over you'd discover there was a USB socket sticking out of one end. If you opened it, you'd discover it had a pair of AA batteries, a battery holder, and a circuit board. What you'd find is EVIDENCE, evidence of my ghop vum - my hand's work: handiwork.

Nobody looking at this would think it "just happened" - they'd assume (and they'd be right) that somebody planned to make this gum tin into something else. In this case it's a "minty boost" kit, a portable charger for iPods and mp3 players. It's a neat gadget I made from a kit to recharge the mp3 player on which I'm recording this podcast.

The expanse shows Daj ghop vum. Ps 19:1b

The expanse shows his handiwork.

The Bible reminds believers that when they look up into the sky, when they look deep into nature they see something - not something that HAPPENED by chance, but something that was planned and put together. It's craftsmanship, what the WEB and other translations call handiwork - a translation of two Hebrew words, maaseh (an action or work) and yad (hand). The sky shows us God's hand AT work. The word "handiwork" only appears once in the WEB or the KJV. The NLT uses the term "craftsmanship" for this Hebrew phrase - and likewise it only appears the one time in the whole Bible.

This is a very THIN slice of God. If you came across my gadget-in-the-altoids tin, you'd know it was handiwork, but learn very little about me. Maybe you'd form an opinion of my soldering skills, but you'd know little about my likes and dislikes. You wouldn't even know WHAT I used this gadget FOR - just that someone came along and MADE THIS change in an otherwise innocent and unassuming metal box.

But - it's a start. In the Bible, we hear Jesus say: "Look! Here I stand at the door and knock" - when nature throws us clues in the magnificence of creation, that's one of the ways the door is being knocked upon.

As I noted in my last podcast - when we see these notes and signposts that point us to God - we need to follow through, we need to seek out more than a mystical moment of inspiration. Across the centuries in the Scriptures and in the lives of fellow believers, we can find testimony that will draw us closer to Him,to the one who made this universe, who wants us to get to know him better. In the Bible we can learn not just that the Universe WAS made, but by whom. And we can learn about his love and plan for our lives.

God's handiwork is all around - His power and his steadfast creation is all around you, knocking on the door of your awareness. Open the door!

The expanse shows Daj ghop vum. Ps 19:1b

The expanse shows his handiwork.