Person of the Year: God!
By Bill Denton
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” (Revelation 4:11, NASB95)
Annually, Time picks the Person of the Year to appear on the cover of its magazine. Previous honorees were asked whom they would select for 2006, and Coleen Rowley, former FBI agent and whistleblower chosen for the honor in 2002, responded:
I think the "Person" of the Year should be God. On the one hand, more people seem certain they know God's will on the social issues of the day. On the other, all of us feel the need to find answers as we confront the "acts of God" dominating the news, like diseases and global catastrophes.
"Some Past Honorees Give Their Picks for This Year," Time (11-21-05)
I understand Ms. Rowley’s suggestion, and must confess to a great deal of agreement with the sentiment. On the other hand, how would we ever have anyone but God as Person of the Year? It seems to me that God would dominate, if He were given a fair consideration.
It does bring up a question about honoring God. He doesn’t have to be chosen for Time’s cover and granted a title. It’s entirely appropriate for us to recognize those among us who stand out and deserve some special consideration. Honor for God should greatly supercede a magazine cover layout, or a special edition dedication.
Both Paul and John, writing respectively in the books of Romans and Revelation, draw upon the idea of honoring God. Paul said in Romans that failing to honor God stood at the brink of a precipitous plunge into sin. John writes of his glimpse into the heavenly scene where the twenty-four elders proclaim their obeisance to God having acknowledged His right to receive glory, honor and power. After all, God is creator of all, therefore all should acknowledge the relative positions of both themselves and the God who created everything.
I suppose in some way, this may sound like some very complicated thing, but it’s not really. I once heard a fellow say (probably quoting someone else who originated this statement), that the greatest lesson he ever learned was this: There is a God and I’m not Him.
Honoring God begins with a recognition that He exists. Go back and read the first chapter of Romans. Man’s downward spiral into ruin started with a lack of honor for God that eventually led to an outright denial of God. Lack of honor for God resulted in man elevating all sorts of things into the place of God. Sometimes it was in the form of idols. Much of the time, we elevate ourselves into God’s place. Honoring God, starts by acknowledging His existence. Everything else flows from that. Once there is God, other things fall into place. Who do you honor?
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