Package Deal

How awesome would it be to have a genie? This magical being would come at the slightest rub of our fingers. He would grant our deepest, most desperate desires, and the world would be beautiful and perfect. Right?

Too often we treat the Lord like our personal genie. He should answer when we call, give us exactly what we ask, and make us happy all the time. The fact is, the Lord isn't a genie in a bottle. He is both GREAT and GOOD, the total package deal. The Lord is the Maker of the heavens and the earth (Isaiah 40:28). He fashioned man from the dust of the earth and breathed life into him (Genesis 2:7). Your every breath is a gift. God is beyond your understanding. He is holy, and therefore, should be honored and revered. Unlike the genie, there is nothing He can't do. He is not limited or contained by our fears or imagination. He is not confined to a box of our beliefs. Like Genie sings, the Lord is the power in our corner. He is GREAT.

The Lord is also GOOD. I can't explain all that this word means to me. Nahum 1:7 says, "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who trust in Him." He is holy and above all, but because He created us and loves us, He desires a relationship, a friendship as Genie's song said. That friendship is not lost or swayed. Unlike Genie, because the Lord loves us, He does what's best for us. "'I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" Genie must obey Aladdin's every whim. The Lord does not answer our every request because, like a good friend, like a good father, He loves us too much to give us that which will harm us.

With Jesus, we get the total package deal. He is a God who can do anything and is beyond our wildest imaginings. He is holy and above us, which requires respect and reverence on our part. But He is also a friend, good, and loving. His relationship with us includes doing what is best because it will be far more than we can ask, think, or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). He knows our three wishes, and the ways in which He chooses to answer the requests that are God-honoring will bring Him glory because He is GREAT, and be for our benefit because He is GOOD. Better than the most powerful genie and not limited by a lamp.

Copyright of video belongs to Disney.