DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017
A Glory Beyond Our Senses
As part of his appointment as Curator of Experiments for the Royal Society in 1662, Robert Hooke inherited a commission from King Charles II to carry out microscopic research. In 1665, Hooke published his revolutionary findings: when he examined a slice of cork, he discovered it was composed of millions of tiny structures he called “cells.” Despite the fact that such cells constantly surrounded people, and even composed their very bodies, they had been previously imperceptible.
This month we have focused on verses that deal with the human senses and what we can perceive about God and His work with the senses He has given us. But we must confess that our senses are insufficient to perceive the fullness of God and His love for us. Even as we “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28), our attempt to fully understand God will be as futile as that of people trying to identify cells without a microscope.
God exceeds far beyond the reach of our physical senses. Indeed, Paul writes that “no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (v. 11) and proclaims that what God has prepared for those who love Him is something “no eye has seen . . . no ear has heard, and . . . no human mind has conceived” (v. 9).
Yet that does not mean these things must forever remain unknown to us, for God chooses to reveal them “to us by his Spirit” (v. 10). Because God’s glory and love so surpass our capacities, we can never seize them through our own powers; we can receive them only
through God’s grace (v. 12). May we continually welcome the Spirit into our lives so that we may grow in knowledge of God’s glory and His love for us.
APPLY THE WORD
God’s salvation engages our senses but also extends beyond them. Pray that He would help you appreciate the sights, tastes, feelings, scents, and sounds of salvation. Pray that you will serve Him through your use of your physical senses. And pray also for the Spirit to fill you so that you might know the reality of God’s love that exceeds our senses.
Today in the Word is a production of Moody Global Ministries
