I grew up under the impression that the primary gene of God is His holiness. On studying Scripture and our place in God's program as the church; I'm not convinced. Yes, the angels in Isaiah 6 proclaim God a thrice holy God, yes, John shuttered at the brass feet of Christ, God of glory; but how do you want your children to remember you? As a distant dictator, one unapproachable, who always had it together or as one, who nurtured them well with empathy and compassionate care. The Bible is very clear in 1 John 1 that God is light, undimmed by darkness; but its portrait of God in 1 John 4 is love, not distance or shove. He desires to be near, not distant, for "He's not far from anyone of us," Acts 17. He is not cold and uninterested but near, mighty to save. Peter portrays Him as the Christ, who keeps us way beyond salvation with His delivering Hand. John 13 is crystal clear regarding how others are to know God, by our love for one another just as Christ showed us God by His demonstrating His love on Calvary's cross. He shared with us the Father's love dying for us enemies, without strength, and cursed by sin. Christ in a word is love. Your past need not keep you from His Hand of mercy; in Christ, you can be made new or restored today, for God is love.
Cheers, bro, on this one.
ReplyDeleteI believe God's holiness is a first encounter we must experience to clearly understand the depths of His love. We must never mistake the means with the end, love.
ReplyDeleteDavid, thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb you and Robbie have been a blessing to me.
ReplyDeleteDave,
ReplyDeleteThis is great news. I think it is a struggle between bone and marrow as the scripture puts it. There is a part of us that is religious that needs hell, endless laws that we can not keep, holding up obligations we can not fulfill, and eternal damnation to keep us in line. Even a lot of hymns reflect a neurotic paranoid kind of view of God. And I'm not meaning to be blasphemous. On the other hand, there is also a spiritual side of us that knows that we love Him, and the Holy Spirit can give us eyes to see the man who walked on the shores of Galilee and lived among men with no home or a church to call people into. I do not want to miss Him in this life. Thanks for this post.