A Glass Full of Sand
By Tony Rangel
There was once a group of well respected men and women, each at the very top of his or her field, who met together each month. Among them were professors, doctors, lawyers, and scientists – all major influencers who were dedicated to improving the human condition by means of human intellect.
At one of these meetings, the conversation turned to a common frustration that they all had with people who didn’t acknowledge their personal accomplishments.
“What’s really aggravating to me,” said the surgeon, “is that I’ve brought all my education and training to the task of transplanting a human heart – or any other organ, for that matter – and after I just performed a life saving procedure the patient says, ‘I thank God that you were here to help me.’ Why? Did He perform the operation?”
“That’s right,” said the college professor. “Why do they have to bring up God? Where was He when I had to stay up all night studying into the early morning, night after night, working long, grueling hours to get to where I am?”
“Well, I believe in God the same as the next person,” said the agricultural research scientist. “But I’m the one that dedicated my life to developing these new strains of fruits and vegetables that will help end world hunger. This isn’t religion. It’s about the science. What does any of that have to do with God?”
“I have a solution,” said the lawyer. “Let's each go out and ask the next priest, nun, rabbi, or pastor that we find to pray for us to have a one-on-one meeting with God Almighty. What’s the worst that could happen? If it works, we can tell God to stay out of our business and let man control his own destiny.”
At their next meeting, each of them reported that they had completed this assignment, asking for prayer, but nothing had happened. All at once, as they were discussing this, they fell asleep around the conference table and awoke together in a beautiful hall in Heaven.
God Himself sat before them – yet not one of them humbled himself, kneeled, or glorified Him. There was not so much as a “Thank You, God.”
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).
After a moment, their thought processes returned.
“Now, look here, God,” the surgeon began, shaking a finger. “We believe it’s time You leave man alone. I am a surgeon. If anyone loses an arm or a leg or some other body part, I can sew it back together as good as new, all by myself. That’s what I can do.”
The transplant doctor came forward and said, “Look, God: I can trade out any heart, liver, or kidney from a donor into another patient and it will work every bit as well in that new body as it did for the donor. That’s what I can do.”
The agriculturist came forward and said, “God, I can apply my techniques and compounds to any fruit or vegetable and it will grow bigger and taste even better than the original. That’s what I can do.”
With that, the lawyer came forward and said, “See here, God, as You have just heard, mankind has advanced enough in human knowledge to take care of itself. So we think You should back off; take a rest and just let us handle things ourselves. As You can see, we've arrived at a point in our own knowledge and expertise where we can honestly say that Your services are no longer required.”
“Well, gentlemen,” said God, “I will grant your request on one condition.” From behind Him, God brought out a glass full of sand.
“In that room behind you,” He continued, “are all the materials I used to create the world. They are at your disposal; use whatever you want to make me a glass full of sand just like this one and bring it here to Me. Then I will grant your request.”
The group of learned men and women were excited. They immediately headed for the room, high-fiving each other and confidently assigning tasks to each other. They knew that, given the right equipment and materials, they could do exactly what God had asked.
They opened the doors and found themselves in a bare, empty room, with not so much as a chair or table. They turned around to ask God where all His materials and equipment were, but the door was gone and on the wall was written Genesis 1:9-13: “Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear,’ and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth,’ and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.”
God was showing them that the whole world was formed from nothing, by His Word alone.
As this truth sank in, some of them realized at last Who He was and who they were, and they prostrated themselves on the floor as quickly as they could in His presence.
All at once, they knew that it was God who gave them just the right parents to nurture and guide them as they grew; it was God who gave them the right teachers to challenge their minds and stimulate their intellects and to teach them how to use the brains that He gave them. That it was God who gave them advancement, opening the doors for their college educations and directing their career paths.
Psalm 139:1-4 says, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know my sitting down and my rising up. When I rise up, You understand my thoughts afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”
It’s a terrible tendency in mankind to think too much of his own effort and intellect. He wants to remove God from the equation because he forgets that God is the Maker of everything within the equation.
How hard it is for man to admit that he’s not the one doing it all. That God has not only helped each and every one of us, but that He’s been with us all through our lives, leading, guiding, directing, and giving us the ability and talent to do the things we do.
In America, God has been removed from our schools because man says it’s all about the science. They forget that God is the inventor and the upholder of science and of all creation. But you can’t mention that, because it might offend someone.
Now, it's illegal to talk about God in school. It’s illegal to pray in school or in any kind of government meeting where there used to be an opening prayer for God’s help and direction. Now they call it the opening invocation. Pretty soon they will have designated areas where a church is allowed to be.
It is very important that we teach our children that God’s arms are stretched out toward us – not for evil, but to just love us. He wants us to know that He is listening to us when we pray to Him and wants the best for us.
In Jeremiah; 29: 11-13 God says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
We need to guide our children into a personal relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is so important that we pray with our children daily and teach them the importance of relying upon God and not on themselves or on their own intellects.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever” (Psalm 111:10).