The other day, I had the opportunity to talk with a young friend of mine. Wide-eyed and voice at a raised whisper, she shared with me how awesome the universe is. With sweep gestures, she told me about galaxies and how different ones were differently colored. She declared that Saturn was her favorite planet and that she would love to visit it one day. As I listened to her thrilled voice go on, I was awed once again at how amazing it is. There is so much beauty and order. I thought of the verse that tells us that God calls the stars by name (Psalm 147:4). We can’t even count how many galaxies there are, much less how many stars there are. But our God knows them by name.
As I thought on this, I was reminded of Psalm 8 where we read, “When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” The One who created the earth and everything in it, the One who counts the stars and knows their names, the One Who feeds the birds and sees when a sparrow falls, the One who clothes the tiny, delicate flowers with beauty: this is the One who has set His love upon us. For all our thoughts that perhaps He is too busy to notice us, He declares that He has numbered the hairs on our heads. He knows our needs before we ask, and daily loads us with benefits. So great and deep is His love for us that we never will be able to fully fathom it.
And to think that God has this love for us, even when we treat Him as our enemy! We treat His loving laws (which point us to the only way we can truly be filled with joy and peace) as cruel bands that prevent us from achieving happiness. We desire to break those bands and cast those cords away. We call His command to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength ‘narrow-minded.’ We declare the commandment to not take His name in vain ‘old-fashioned.’ We consider His laws to not steal, lie, and covet ‘up-tight’ and ‘rigid.’ The truth is that we find ourselves having fallen far short of this standard of perfection and rather than admit it is so, we would rather make excuse for ourselves or try to throw out the whole standard.
This will never work, for God, the righteous Judge of the whole earth, is not swayed by our name calling. Our excuses will not stand when we are called into account. He has no favorites and cannot be bribed. And in spite of the deep love He has for us, we will still be justly found guilty of breaking His law. And the penalty for breaking His law is death and hell.
But it is that same love that creates a way of escape, a salvation from these things. Ephesians chapter 2 helps us understand this. Here we read some wonderful words. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ.” God knew we could never keep His law. We, by nature, choose to go our own way and rebel against Him. But in His love, He sent His Son, Jesus, to live on earth, and be tempted to sin, just as we are, and yet He never sinned. Having never sinned, Jesus did not need to die (remember death is the wages of sin). But He took our sins upon Himself and died our death, taking the payment for our sins, and making His righteousness available to us.
Now you may be asking, “How do I get in on this? How can I have Jesus’ righteousness on my account?” Ephesians chapter 2 answers that question: “For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” We do not need to say some specific words, or repeat a prayer a specified number of times. There is no requirement of shedding tears, or to do ‘good things.’ Rather it is received by faith. When you agree with God that you have broken His law and cannot do anything to earn His forgiveness; that His Son Jesus’ perfect life, death on the cross, and resurrection from the grave are the the only payment for your sin; and by faith this gift is yours, then you have accepted the way of salvation the God has lovingly provided for everyone who will receive it. “For with the heart one believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:10-13).
There may be some who think, “Surely this is not for me. I’ve been too bad (or have rebelled against God too long, or some other reason).” But nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus’ words while he was here on earth were “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you…” With tender compassion, the Shepherd of our souls seeks those who have gone astray and invites them to come to Him. That invitation of love reaches to every person, in all situation, and in all conditions. “Come,” He says, “and I will give you rest.” Come, believe, and enter into the joyous relationship with the Almighty Creator God you were designed for.
There are others, perhaps, who have entered into a relationship with God already, but do not realize or have forgotten the wonders of His love and care. God’s invitation comes to you as well “Taste and see that I am good.” “Come to me, and you shall find rest to you soul.” Though you may feel alone and bewildered, may you meditate on who our God is and be filled with joy and peace in believing His awesome care for and attention to you.
Dear friend, wherever you find yourself, my prayer for you is that you will enter into the joy and peace of a relationship with God, and that your heart will overflow with praise as you understand in a deep, personal way the depth of the riches of the love of God.
Hope in truth 