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| Section: Walking In The Faith |
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| Category: Biblical Teaching / Lesson |
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| WHO IS THE MAN UPSTAIRS? |
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Recently, I was reading an article in Reader’s Digest about everyday heroes. This particular story was about a man who stopped to help two women whose trailer had come loose from their truck and was stuck on the train tracks. With a train soon to arrive, the women could not move the trailer; it had dug itself into the asphalt when falling from the fifth wheel. Summoning a combination of strength and experience, the man was able to move the trailer with only seconds to spare before the train went whizzing by. When interviewed about the incident he was quoted as saying “someone upstairs must have been looking out for me”.
I have heard several variations of this phrase over the years both before and after becoming a Christian. I may have even used it myself at one time or another. But is it true? Is there a “man upstairs”? And, if so, does he “look down” from his upstairs abode? I have to say at this point that I have great difficulty with this phrase and here is why:
First, almost without exception, this phrase is used by unbelievers. Why do I say this? Because, true believers know that nowhere in the Bible does this phrase exist! Second, if by chance it is used by someone who professes a belief in God, their God is most likely an all-encompassing one. Let me further explain what I mean:
In the bible, there are three distinct persons described as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). This is most commonly referred to as the Trinity. In society, it is not a real problem to refer to God the Father as just plain God. The vast majority believe in God in one way or another. This even goes to the extreme of gender neutral so as to not offend anyone who may think God is female or animal or a higher power or even a “guardian angel”! And, so it is that the certain “someone upstairs” is what we commonly hear when someone has a close encounter with mortality. Let me make my case clear though as to why this reference to God makes me more than a bit uncomfortable:
The bible shows that God exists alright, but it reveals so much more than that. It shows that we must not only confess God before our fellow citizens, but that this is necessary in order that we may all be saved unto eternal life (Romans 10:9,10). Jesus said “if you will not confess me before men, neither will I confess you before my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 10:32,33) (note: not upstairs). With this in mind it is clear that we need to speak the name of Jesus, not “the big guy upstairs”. Things will probably get tense at this point but this is the cross we must bear because the bible also states “there is no other name under heaven (again, not “upstairs”) given among men by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:12). ). This is vital since God desires that all repent and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). That truth is focused much more on the hereafter than on the here and now.
The One Who was ultimately “looking out for us from upstairs” was none other than the Savior of the World and His name is Jesus, and He takes no pleasure at the death of the wicked. At the end of it all every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phillipians 2:9-11) (not the “man upstairs”)! May we all draw from this little article a deeper understanding of Who is really looking down from above. |
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| Date of Submission: 2007-06-13 12:06:51 |
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