01/03/2026
I would like to offer a reading in scripture this morning from the book of Acts in the Bible. Consider these 5 verse in Act 17, verses 24 to 28.
Acts 17:24-28
English Standard Version
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
The reality of God is who He is and how as His creation we relate to Him. Does "the God who made the world and everything in it" need a place in which to exist, a home among the people which He created?
By no means does He need a place, His presence is always with us, there is no need for human hands to construct a place as He is present in full extent of that which He has created, and in that which lies beyond.
So if He is the God of the very universe in which we exist, the is nothing known or unknown to us that we can give to Him. In our relationship with our Creator there is not one material thing that He would want from us that we can give Him.
God has created us in His image, and He has created us that we are not drawn to Him as part of that creation. He has formed us, being that live and breathe who are individuals each with free will to choose to live and die as we choose. We make the decisions to live in this place governed only by the laws that hold the universe together and by our own choices within those limitations.
Since we are given free will, it is our choice and our choice alone that will say we will believe in our creator as God, it is our choice to choose to be close to Him or far from Him in our mortal existence.
We alone will choose if we love Him or not.
And as there is nothing material, nothing that we hold that He does not hold in His hand already; what then can we give Him as a sign of our wanting to be in relationship with Him.
All we have is the "love", that thing which we can give or take away, the one thing we have, the gift He has given us, that He does not have unless we give it to Him.
We are children of God, given the ability to turn away, or to turn towards, the Creator of the Universe. We choose to love God or to NOT love God.
And the shocking fact in that relationship is that His love for us is always with us, never failing, never wavering, never any less present. He created us to be "His children", and He loves us regardless of our choices.
How can you not love that which has conceived you in His own heart and formed you in all of your wonderful and miraculous parts, similar to but not the same as any other being who ever existed or ever will. You are one of a kind.
Your physical body, your spirit, your soul are each different for all others around you. And you have the choice to love or not love. You can love your brothers or sisters in creation or you can choose to not love them, you can love He that has created you or you can choose to turn away and not love Him.
Make the choice for yourself.
