A lot is said among Christians about the love of God and it's true that we can rest assured that His love surpasses the attempts to describe it...
Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT) 18 "And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully."
In fact, beginning to understand the truth about His love opens the door to deeper relationship with Him for many. But it also opens another mystery for understanding to grasp...
1 John 4:7-8 (NLT) 7 "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
I have no argument with the truth regarding the love of our God or the truly indisputable fact that He is indeed love. If it were not true we would now all be condemned to a horror that exceeds the limits of our understanding. But superseding that, I'm persuaded that we would not have been created at all. I believe fully that it's because of His great love and His desire to share it that we were formed and given His breath to have life.But the caution that looms large in my mind at the moment would be this: An incomplete truth often leads to an incomplete understanding and an incomplete understanding opens the door to the possibility of deception... and deception to the dangerous possibility of a fatal mistake before a completely Holy God.
Father God is many things - not love only. And I'm convinced that our ability to know all of Him completely at this time is limited in part by our current capacity. One day we will know Him more clearly and completely, but for now He's given us full access to what we need to know. Through the wonders of creation speaking to us about Him, the precious revelation of the Holy Spirit and also through what He's made available for us to know through the divine dictation of His heart and instruction toward our success in finding Him in scripture,... we have access to knowledge of Him. We need further only the desire and discipline to know Him. So if we've not gleaned what He's graciously offered of Himself, we're without excuse.
Isaiah 55:6 (NLT) "Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near."
My heart's been concerned for some time with a heightened knowledge that there's a prominent desire of mankind to find those things that comfort him and make him feel secure. And that in that effort it's possible that some might cling to certain selected aspects of our God's character while neglecting to acknowledge the fullness of all that He is and makes available to be known. Included in what we may know both about and of our Lord are many things that are comforting and precious. But what may be overlooked in that search could create a partially assembled puzzle with missing pieces, therefore an incomplete and incorrect representation. It's not that the pieces assembled are the wrong pieces to create the desired picture, only that without those missing pieces, the picture is incomplete and therefore incorrect to be true to the subject it purports to represent.
For example, there's a lot of teaching available against having any fear, but one thing should always be included as a constant - the exempting of one fear in proper context that all of mankind MUST hold - the reverent fear and respect for the awesome power, the complete holiness, perfect righteousness and sovereign justice of the Lord our God. He is love, but He's also terrifyingly all powerful, all perfectly holy, completely righteous and exactingly just -all at the same time...
...And we of ourselves surely are not. It's only by the provision of His grace - His having accepted the execution of our horrific sentence on Himself, that His perfect justice is served on our behalf and that we are spared. He made a way to take our punishment on Himself in order to save us because He loves us - yes, but also because the sheer terror of His perfect justice, resting on us in light of our failure and imperfection, required to be served perfectly. And there was only one perfect solution to satisfy all of His holy, perfectly complete character at the same time to save what He loves so dearly.
My heart's been concerned for some time with a heightened knowledge that there's a prominent desire of mankind to find those things that comfort him and make him feel secure. And that in that effort it's possible that some might cling to certain selected aspects of our God's character while neglecting to acknowledge the fullness of all that He is and makes available to be known. Included in what we may know both about and of our Lord are many things that are comforting and precious. But what may be overlooked in that search could create a partially assembled puzzle with missing pieces, therefore an incomplete and incorrect representation. It's not that the pieces assembled are the wrong pieces to create the desired picture, only that without those missing pieces, the picture is incomplete and therefore incorrect to be true to the subject it purports to represent.
For example, there's a lot of teaching available against having any fear, but one thing should always be included as a constant - the exempting of one fear in proper context that all of mankind MUST hold - the reverent fear and respect for the awesome power, the complete holiness, perfect righteousness and sovereign justice of the Lord our God. He is love, but He's also terrifyingly all powerful, all perfectly holy, completely righteous and exactingly just -all at the same time...
...And we of ourselves surely are not. It's only by the provision of His grace - His having accepted the execution of our horrific sentence on Himself, that His perfect justice is served on our behalf and that we are spared. He made a way to take our punishment on Himself in order to save us because He loves us - yes, but also because the sheer terror of His perfect justice, resting on us in light of our failure and imperfection, required to be served perfectly. And there was only one perfect solution to satisfy all of His holy, perfectly complete character at the same time to save what He loves so dearly.
If a person were to dwell on the love of God only, they might do well to consider this: it was a lack of fear and respect for God that led satan to find himself cast out of heaven. And dwelling on an incomplete consideration of the fullness of all that God is, how easy it might be for any man to become casual in his own thoughts and conduct before the Lord if the love of God was the only thing he knew about Him in his heart. How easy it would be to provoke the God who is exactly perfect in ALL that He is ALL of the time.
Remembering that we're saved through our true belief in and our submission to Christ and that Father God is never changing, we do well to also to remember who He is...
Isaiah 5:15-24 (NLT)
15 "Humanity will be destroyed, and people brought down; even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation. 16 But the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted by his justice. The holiness of God will be displayed by his righteousness. 17 In that day lambs will find good pastures, and fattened sheep and young goats will feed among the ruins. 18 What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! 19 They even mock God and say, “Hurry up and do something! We want to see what you can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to know what it is.” 20 What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. 21 What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. 22 What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold. 23 They take bribes to let the wicked go free, and they punish the innocent. 24 Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble and dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will rot and their flowers wither. For they have rejected the law of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies; they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel."
15 "Humanity will be destroyed, and people brought down; even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation. 16 But the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted by his justice. The holiness of God will be displayed by his righteousness. 17 In that day lambs will find good pastures, and fattened sheep and young goats will feed among the ruins. 18 What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! 19 They even mock God and say, “Hurry up and do something! We want to see what you can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to know what it is.” 20 What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. 21 What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. 22 What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold. 23 They take bribes to let the wicked go free, and they punish the innocent. 24 Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble and dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will rot and their flowers wither. For they have rejected the law of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies; they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel."
... and that Ananias and Sapphira, part of the fellowship of Christ's early Church were not spared justice when they acted without the proper fear and respect for the fullness of who our God is... and lied to HIM.
Acts 5:1-11 (NLT)
1 "Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events."
I pray often - "Lord, help me always to remember and to find my proper place before you respecting all that you are..."
I've said this before and it bears repeating - "I claim no advantage over any other in Christ. My purpose is only to provoke gainful thought and hopeful promotion of my brothers and sisters in Christ toward Him as we journey together."
Like any other, it's when I let my focus on Christ waver and I begin to think I'm doing well in my own eyes, that I'm brought to shameful humiliation. I thank God that He has made provision for us and that His patience with me is long suffering while I continually find myself needing to seek His grace and find myself needfully submitting to His work in me.
I've said this before and it bears repeating - "I claim no advantage over any other in Christ. My purpose is only to provoke gainful thought and hopeful promotion of my brothers and sisters in Christ toward Him as we journey together."
Like any other, it's when I let my focus on Christ waver and I begin to think I'm doing well in my own eyes, that I'm brought to shameful humiliation. I thank God that He has made provision for us and that His patience with me is long suffering while I continually find myself needing to seek His grace and find myself needfully submitting to His work in me.
Micah 6:8-9 (NLT) 8 "No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. 9 Fear the LORD if you are wise!... "
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