Teacher Devotions: Seeing Everything

Job 28:24 For God views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

I love using Google Earth on my computer. It amazes me that satellite cameras can focus on my neighborhood, allowing me to see my house from outer space. I also use it to look at the places in Scotland where I used to live. I can truly say that I can see my Dad’s house in Glasgow, Scotland from here in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Sometimes when I’m looking at Glasgow or Maybole where I ministered, I follow a road or a bus route and relive journeys from my past. I look at lochs and glens, beaches and bays and fondly remember days of my childhood and youth. We live in a remarkable age and I am truly delighted at having these experiences.

I also use Google Earth to look at places that are mentioned in the Bible. It gives me an idea of what kind of scenery that various biblical characters must have had when they walked the Earth. Recently, our church has been reading and studying Paul’s Letter to the Colossians and I found it interesting to look at the modern day region of Hanoz in Turkey. It made me realize how isolated those Colossians Christians were from the rest of the Mediterranean Church.

When I read this verse today from the Book of Job, it made me wonder if God looks across the Earth and not only sees what’s happening now, but fondly remembers times gone by when His Biblical people and Christ’s Early Church moved across the Mediterranean and Middle East. I guess if I can look at places in Scotland nostalgically, then God probably does the same.

I like that. I like the fact that God is watching me and recalling the events of my life at the same time. It comforts me to know that through Christ there are no barriers between God and me. And it reassures me to feel that God is very interested in each and every individual life on Earth. He truly views the ends of the Earth and sees everything under the heavens.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for embracing this planet called Earth and its entire population. Thank You for the investment of Your Son Jesus in our history, geography, and lives. And thank You for the comfort that Your watchful and loving presence gives to each and every one of us. In Your Holy Name, we gratefully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.