Of God's love.

Of God's love, J. I. Packer wrote, "His love is an incomprehensibly vast, bottomless, shoreless sea before which we kneel in joyful silence and from which the loftiest eloquence retreats confused and abashed."

I was rendered speechless upon reading those words as I was preparing a message on the love of God for Sunday morning.  How in the world was I to do justice to this topic when those words haunted me?

The truth is, it is not our job to try to explain God's love, only introduce people to the author.

When God showed His love to us, through Jesus Christ, He made it easy to navigate that shoreless sea.  "Give me Jesus," the words of the song exclaim.  "Give them Jesus," the words of God proclaim.

So how did I communicate the vast, bottomless, shoreless sea of God's love.  I gave them Jesus.

Eph 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Where sin abounds...

How sinful is the world? Calculate all of the sin in of all of the world. Start with your self. Add up each sin you have ever committed and add to it those you have yet to commit. Now think of every person living, from the most innocent to the most vile and what is their sum, past and future. Now add to that every person that has ever lived and all of their sinfulness. How sinful is the world? Staggering!

Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more.Read it again.Read it again. Out loud. Seriously.

Paul's words to us in Romans 5:20 remind us of this great truth.Don’t ever think that the life is more evil than good. God’s goodness, His grace and His mercy far exceed and out weigh all that is wrong in the world. His grace is our salvation; literally. It doesn't just tip the scales, it breaks the scales, the chains and the tables. And as if that weren't enough add to that John 1:16.

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Not just abounding grace, but abounding grace upon abounding grace. The God of the double portion. His grace is sufficient not just for my sin, but for all of mankind throughout all of history and the future. None of us deserve is, nor can we earn it, but then again, that is what makes it grace. We can receive it, though, and watch it's transformational power change us into people of grace so that we can be the abounding grace this world so desperately needs.

To Abundancy and Beyond

On Sunday, our church continued a study of the attributes of God, focusing this week on His goodness.  Up until this point, it has been about His power, knowledge, presence, existence, sovereignty, holiness and justice.  All amazing attributes, but not a lot of stuff to make you want to cuddle up in the lap of your Heavenly Father.  Learning about His goodness was like waking up in a mountain cabin near a waterfall where the water spray catches the light, causing a rainbow to shine over a field of wildflowers and puppies*.  His goodness is what makes life beautiful.

Think if it this way.  If God were to say, "I will fill your cup," then His faithfulness will ensure that it is done.  God's righteousness will make sure the cup is completely full.  But His goodness?  His goodness will fill it to overflowing; pouring over the top and spilling out all over the place.

He does that for two reasons.  First, He loves to bless His children in an exceedingly abundant manor.  Secondly, when we have more than enough, we have plenty to pour out on others in just the same fashion that God lavished it on us.  Double blessings all around.

God loves to pour out blessings.  Our job is to faithfully pursue Him.  We don't pursue the blessings, just Him.  And when we cry, "God, show us your glory," then He will do as He did with Moses and pass His goodness right in front of us in such a measure as we will not be able to contain it.

God, show us your glory today.

*(sorry, an inside joke for those who were there on Sunday)