Sunday Meditations

This morning we were worshiping at home as a family and my husband played one of my favorite songs...

Death Was Arrested
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMsMiluCUUI

...and one of the lines stood out in my mind in a whole new way.

"My shame was a ransom he faithfully bore"

It occurred to me, not necessarily for the very first time, but just in such a new perspective, that every pain or guilt that I have ever felt, God can relate, not only because He created us and cares for us, not only because He came to earth in flesh through Jesus, but because He literally felt it on the cross...!!!

So often one of the big questions of theology is why would God let bad things happen. There are many philosophies trying to explain this. But if we can let that question go for just a minute, and remember that God personally carried every ounce of suffering with Him to the cross...that is a powerful image. We don't experience our suffering on our own, Jesus has also experienced any suffering we will ever know. It's such a powerful realization that I can't even fully get my head around it or explain it.

Several years ago I did an in depth personal study on the Gospel of John, specifically the words of Jesus captured there. Through that study I came to understand that sin (or evil) is simply anything apart from God, and also from that and other lessons, to understand that blessing is simply being in the presence of God. We tend to make both of those ideas either too complicated or too specific. They are big ideas, but also very simple. I think we get very distracted by that question and miss the amazing fact that not only do we feel it, but He felt it too.

When Jesus went to the cross, He felt the pain of being separated from God the Father because He carried all the "sin of the world" (John 1:29) - every experience in every life that ever separated a person from God the Father. And when He rose from the grave He had extinguished all those sufferings and what remains is the opportunity to live a life fully in the presence of God through His Holy Spirit - to be blessed. 

If we elect to live in sin apart from God - either by intent or neglect - it is our own choice to waste His gift. This can manifest itself in so many different ways - some deceitfully attractive and some deplorably repulsive. But if it is apart from God it is sin. And if we choose to live in blessing in the presence of God by accepting the gift of Jesus, it is by His grace alone that this is available to us. We can know that whatever pain or guilt we ever bear, that it once rested upon His shoulders and has no effect on our relationship with Him any more - for simply being in God's presence is blessing.

Will you choose His presence today?

Photo by James on Unsplash

Gifts of God

These days I am truly in a season where I am actively and intentionally pursuing God and His will for my life and my family moment by moment. I would like to share a revelation that came to mind one day recently. Please accept the following reflections as my continued meditation on the idea. I encourage you to take your own thoughts and feelings before the Lord as you seek His will for your own life.

Everything in life is a gift of God. Philosophically speaking, in our finite minds, we can attribute them to these three means, though truly His plans are too great for us to understand:

1) God bestows mercy on us through His grace.
2) God develops strength in us through difficult circumstances.
3) God grants free will to us by allowing the choice to walk with Him or apart from Him. 

Whatever the situation or experience, I believe everything can be counted as a gift from God in one of these three ways.

If you will allow me the following analogies, we can see even in the simplest of earthly human gifts that there is complexity. Some gifts we might superficially see as pure pleasure, such as a box of chocolates; and other gifts we might see as a long term serious commitment, maybe even burdensome, such as a college scholarship. However, they both have another perspective - even the pleasure of chocolate can become a burden if you consider the potential for a stomach ache or added weight from calories. And then the burden of college can turn into pleasure through a life of satisfaction and fulfillment from education and contributing to society.

God offers His gifts of joy and suffering in our lives, and His gift of free will enables us to embrace the joy or pain and accept that God will give it purpose for our good and His glory. How we approach our joy and pain makes all the difference! When we choose to see every situation as a gift, it allows us to live in freedom to trust God, and releases us from the chains of fear and uncertainty.

In my own life I continually see God's grace even in the smallest areas on a daily basis, and it brings me great joy. I have also experienced very difficult days when God offers the opportunity to grow stronger, and that can involve great suffering. God's plan is beyond my understanding, and still I can see it working all things together for us when we choose to trust Him. God's plan is perfect and unchanging and will always bring Him glory; how we respond to His plan determines whether we will be able to experience the goodness He has prepared for us.

Our walk with the Lord in this life is an ongoing journey. Will you take a step closer to Him today?

Photo by Sushobhan Badhai on Unsplash