God—Beyond and Above History

In my last trip to Boston, MA, we visited the Freedom Trail. On the trail were many historical landmarks that had monumental value in the making of American history. One of those was a building where revolutionary heroes such as Samuel Adams, James Otis, and John Hancock gave their famous speeches that led to the revolutionary war, and famous abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison spoke for the liberty for the slaves. This building, which was also nicknamed “the Cradle of Liberty,” is Faneuil Hall. It was built in the early 1740s funded by a wealthy merchant called Peter Faneuil. From then till now, the building has hosted debates of numerous historical events, all the way from the Revolutionary War, to the Civil War, and to the current war in Iraq. In other words, Faneuil Hall has been a silent witness to more than 200 years of American history. A building like Faneuil Hall is definitely adorned and cherished not just by historians, but by ordinary tourists like me.

Indeed, a building that carries such historical value has impressed upon the hearts of so many people across the generations, but what about something that is so much more than history itself. Like Fanuil Hall which bore witness to the birth of a great nation and its invigorating history, God was there when the universe was created, and God has been there all along during the making of history itself. In fact, HE was the creator of this universe, and is the author of time.

Historians recognized the value of Fanuil Hall and the historical events that it bore witness to, but what about the value of God who was the witness of ALL history? He was the God who parted the red sea and sent manna from the sky to his beloved, and the God who was the mastermind behind David’s defeat of the giant Goliah . He was the One who sent Jesus to die on the cross for all of our sin, the One who many of the great saints for whom they gave their lives witnessing. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not just the God of Biblical time, He IS THE God we worship in these present days, at the current moment of time.

I have (in my head knowledge) known that the God who forgives and loves me now is the God of Biblical time. However, it is only in trying times that the Alpha-Omega concept of God daunts on me. Think about it, the God who took care of large-scale events (in head counts) such as crossing the red sea, famine and feeding the huge crowds, as well as smaller scale incidences such as the conversion of Paul and the healings of the blind and lame, is the SAME God who is overseeing me at the present time. If He could deliver on such a large scale, He can definitely deliver me in whatever circumstances and storms that I am going through. All we need to do is to trust Him.

If something as unanimated as a building like Fanuil Hall can make such great impression in the hearts of so many historians and tourists, I should be a lot more impressed by this God who IS the Alpha and the Omega.

After thought: My husband suggested I used the Statue of Liberty as an example rather than Faneuil Hall since the former is much more acclaimed than the later. Nonetheless, Faneuil Hall was built much earlier than the Statue of Liberty, and it did witness many of the historical events since the birth of this nation. In other words, I feel that Faneuil Hall would be a much closer match to the point of my article than the Statue of Liberty. I chose to keep it the way it is rather than adjusting the example to make it more generic.

Note: Original article posted on http://www.helium.com/tm/462189/beyond-above-historyin-recent