The Center of the Universe

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.
I Chronicles 29:11

Recently while sharing a meal with some families from our church, one husband and wife explained that they are trying to teach their 18-month-old daughter to wait patiently at the table for them to finish eating. The tendency is for her to finish eating quickly and then want down from her high chair to go and do the next thing. They want her to learn that family mealtimes are about more than just eating. They’re also about interaction with one another.

When I got married my father encouraged us to make a habit of family suppertime. I have many wonderful memories of conversation and laughter around my childhood dinner table as well as at meals with extended family, church family, and my own family through the years. But little ones don’t always have the patience for this. They have to be taught.

As babies we are born as the center of the universe. We know nothing except our own wants and bodily urges. At first we don’t even have language to express those feelings; nor do we have awareness of others or of their needs.

The great work and responsibility of life is to learn- to learn to harness the feelings and urges that we have and to direct them for the good of ourselves and others; to learn how our needs and wants intersect with those of the people around us; and to learn that it is not I but God who is the center of the universe, and thus to learn to yield my desires to His.

When God told King David that he would not be the one to build a permanent temple for God, but that his son, Solomon, would do it, David began to prepare “with all [his] might” (I Chronicles 29:2). He did everything that he could do to facilitate this great endeavor. Not only did he give a tremendous amount of gold, silver, and other precious things to be used in the building and adorning of the temple, he also called upon the people to give as well. They gave so abundantly and so willingly that King David responded with a prayer of rejoicing and praise recorded in I Chronicles 29:10-19. I encourage you to read the prayer in its entirety, but here are some excerpts.

“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
…..

For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
……
and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You.

Notice how David acknowledged that everything they had given to God belonged to Him already, and that “all that is in heaven and in earth” is God’s. David said that God is “head over all.”

I turned 50 this year. How well have I learned this lesson, that God is head over all? I know not to leave the table the second I finish eating; to wait for others and to enjoy the social aspect of a meal. But have I learned, really learned, that God is the center of the universe and I am not? Have I made him the center of MY universe, the central figure of my life from which everything else emanates and to which everything else must surrender? Do I recognize every blessing I have as being from Him and being owed back to Him? If not, perhaps I need to spend more time with Him; sit at His table a little longer. A lot can be accomplished at family mealtimes.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” (Jeremiah 15:16a)

Dear God, I’m truly thankful that I am not the center of the universe, but sometimes there is still a part of me that wants to be. Help me to live in complete surrender to You, acknowledging that everything I am and everything I have is because of You and belongs to You. Fix my heart toward You. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins