Numbers

NumbersI have a social security number, passport #, alien registration #, a medical record #, driver’s license #, three telephone numbers, Flying Blue #, student I.D. #, and a AAA number. There are also credit card numbers, PIN #s, bank account #s, power, water, phone, insurance account #s, tax assessor #, and our street number. All of our cars have both a license and VIN #. Every appliance in our kitchen, anything electronic in house, each power tool in my garage has at least a model and a serial number. Heck even our dogs have a number on their tags.Some of these numbers are pretty important. If they fall into the wrong hands your identity can be stolen, your money can be drained from your accounts, your life turned into a mess.What about if you are assigned a number, or if you have to take a number? When you are reduced to number, when your name is no longer important, when who you are is no longer important?How about if some has your number, when they have you figured out? If they don’t love that can be scary, frustrating, and filled with pain.And what do you do when your number is up. Nothing I suppose, because we don’t decide when that is.Some keep waiting for their lucky number to come up, for some machine to spit out some balls with numbers they picked and paid for. Waiting and hoping to beat the odds, to have enough money for paradise now.There are haunting, weeping numbers like the number of children who went to bed hungry today, the number of lives snuffed out by war and violence today, or the number of women and children abused today, the millions who are enslaved, aborted, forgotten, discarded, and spiritually lost..There are shameful numbers like our National and individual debt, the number of pounds of our collective overweight, the number of children killed by abortion, the amount of money spend on gambling, porn, self-indulgence, decadence, and war and destruction vs. what is spend on doing good.There are also glorious numbers. Like the number one, when one sinner repents, or when one person returns to give God thanks (Luke 15:7, 17:114-15). Or the number of the acts of compassion and kindness that qualify for what Jesus said, "…, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” Matthew 25:40 (NIV).One thing is for sure, no one knows the numbers better than God. He knows the number of birds flying, the number of the hairs on each head. To him we are never a just a number, He knows our names. If we are not careful we will care about the wrong numbers, or fall prey to the way numbers can depersonalize and keep from caring.So what do your numbers say about you? What are the numbers you care about? And how do your numbers square with what God cares about?To God be all glory, love you, Pastor HansP.S. Why did God have the Israelites count so much in the book of Numbers if He already knew the numbers? Send your reply to dergermanshepherd@gmail.com, Pastor Hans, 4175 Abeto Street, La Grange, Ca 95329.