It is the perfect love story: God's love for us. We were created to have a relationship with God. We were created to desire God, to need Him, to want Him. Through the fall of man, the desire for God was replaced with a desire to satisfy the needs and wants of of our flesh. We entered into a covenant with ourselves, instead of a covenant with God. The awesome thing about this, though, is that God had a perfect plan to bring us running back to Him. What Satan had intended for evil, God used for good. (Genesis 50:20) God has been and always will be working all things together for good for those that He has called. (Romans 8:28-30)
God knows that it is through our love relationship with ourselves, that we will become dissatisfied and yearning for more. It is through the pursuit of ourselves, our needs, our wants, and our desires that God has a great opportunity for His love and grace to abound more in our lives. (Romans 8:18-21) He knows that when we get to the bottom of who we are and cannot find peace and completeness in ourselves, then He has the opportunity to fill up what has been made empty. We begin to pursue God. Not because He needs to be found and eludes us (Rev. 1:8 He always has been and always will be. He always has been available to us), but because we begin to burn with a desire for Him and begin to seek Him. (Matthew 7:7)
God is a perfect, gentle and patient lover. He came for us when we hated Him (Rom 5:6-8) He poured Himself out for us so that we might have life and have life abundantly. And then He waited. He waited with so much patience and with so much love. He waited, knowing our nature. He knew that we would spit in the face of His gift of life to us and run from Him. He also knew that eventually we would come to the end of ourselves. We would stop running from Him and turn back towards Him. We would fall on our knees unable to stand, covered in filth, tears streaking our face, our arms stretched out towards Him, and crying out, "Abba Father, Daddy God, I NEED YOU! Please forgive me, please wash me, please make me whole, please heal me, please hold me." The most beautiful part of this picture, is Jesus. His arms are stretched out towards us and He runs to us. He picks us up and with no condemnation (Romans 8:1), no memory and no reminders of or sins and failures, He pulls us to Him and loves us. (Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 43:25) He rejoices over us and celebrates that what once was lost has now been found. He welcomes us back home.
It is through our transgressions that He woos us back to Him. The very thing that separates us from Him is now the catalyst that will bring us running back to Him. We will pursue a relationship with Him and He will fill us till we are bubbling and overflowing with Him! What marvelous hope there is! There is never any need to suffer under the weight of condemnation or to feel like there is no way that God could ever forgive us for what we have done. He can, He will, and He already has! He is just waiting for us to realize our need for Him.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Who Am I?
I am His creation. Psalm 139:14 " I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . . "
In Psalm 139 David is struck by the mystery, awesomeness of Gods ability to form a human being in a mothers womb. It is almost incomprehensible. I have been created by the very hand of God. I have been molded and formed by Him. I am masterpiece of art. I was created by Him who formed the very depths of the sea, the land and all that is in it, the sky, and the heavens. The very same hands that delicately formed each flower, painted the sky, built each mountain, and brought order out of nothing, those same hands, crafted my nose, sculpted my lips, knit me together, and created my soul. I was created in the image of Him. I am His shadow! (Genesis 1:27) All of His creation is wonderful! I am His creation and I am wonderful! I am an inspiration of God! This more than I can begin to completely understand. However, I do understand this: I am of value and I have worth.
When I look at a sunrise or a sunset, a rainbow, or a mountain range, I am in awe of its beauty and I stand amazed at His creation! How much more marvelous, awe inspiring, and beautiful then is His creation of me and every other human being that walks this earth!? It is so easy to stop in wonder at His creation and to declare: "Wow God! Your creation is so awesome and beautiful!" Oh that we would step back and look at ourselves and each other and declare, "Wow God! Look at what you made. I am awesome and beautiful! Oh wow! Look at her over there! She is a masterpiece! Breathtaking! I praise you for your handiwork's! How great you are!"
God foreknew us. (Romans 8:29) He knew us before He made us. A synonym of foreknew is anticipate. He anticipated us! He imagined us, He designed us, and then, He formed us. Who are we to belittle the very art work of God? (Isaiah 64:8, Isaiah 45:9) When we look at God's creation around us, we do not say, "God what were you thinking, putting that ledge on the right side of the mountain instead of on the left?" or "That snowflake is not as beautiful as the one beside it, because it does not look exactly the same as the other." No, we marvel at the individuality of His creation. However, when it comes to God's human creation, we are quick to criticize ourselves and others instead of marveling at the uniqueness of His creation.
The lie of Satan is that we are worthless and that we have no value. We feel small and alone when we believe this lie. We begin to look in a million places to find our worth. The truth can only be found in the one who created us. The truth is, we are His creation, marvelous, beautiful, unique, full of value and worth because we are His!
In Psalm 139 David is struck by the mystery, awesomeness of Gods ability to form a human being in a mothers womb. It is almost incomprehensible. I have been created by the very hand of God. I have been molded and formed by Him. I am masterpiece of art. I was created by Him who formed the very depths of the sea, the land and all that is in it, the sky, and the heavens. The very same hands that delicately formed each flower, painted the sky, built each mountain, and brought order out of nothing, those same hands, crafted my nose, sculpted my lips, knit me together, and created my soul. I was created in the image of Him. I am His shadow! (Genesis 1:27) All of His creation is wonderful! I am His creation and I am wonderful! I am an inspiration of God! This more than I can begin to completely understand. However, I do understand this: I am of value and I have worth.
When I look at a sunrise or a sunset, a rainbow, or a mountain range, I am in awe of its beauty and I stand amazed at His creation! How much more marvelous, awe inspiring, and beautiful then is His creation of me and every other human being that walks this earth!? It is so easy to stop in wonder at His creation and to declare: "Wow God! Your creation is so awesome and beautiful!" Oh that we would step back and look at ourselves and each other and declare, "Wow God! Look at what you made. I am awesome and beautiful! Oh wow! Look at her over there! She is a masterpiece! Breathtaking! I praise you for your handiwork's! How great you are!"
God foreknew us. (Romans 8:29) He knew us before He made us. A synonym of foreknew is anticipate. He anticipated us! He imagined us, He designed us, and then, He formed us. Who are we to belittle the very art work of God? (Isaiah 64:8, Isaiah 45:9) When we look at God's creation around us, we do not say, "God what were you thinking, putting that ledge on the right side of the mountain instead of on the left?" or "That snowflake is not as beautiful as the one beside it, because it does not look exactly the same as the other." No, we marvel at the individuality of His creation. However, when it comes to God's human creation, we are quick to criticize ourselves and others instead of marveling at the uniqueness of His creation.
The lie of Satan is that we are worthless and that we have no value. We feel small and alone when we believe this lie. We begin to look in a million places to find our worth. The truth can only be found in the one who created us. The truth is, we are His creation, marvelous, beautiful, unique, full of value and worth because we are His!
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