"Smile, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life."
I am not sure how many times I have heard this trite summary of the gospel. Surely more than I can count right now. Think bumper stickers, youth group rallies.... and it is an excellent summary of the modern gospel (just throw in a "just the way you are" after "God loves you" first)
But - the wonderful, amazing truth is that while God surely loves you, and His plans are wonderful - He is most concerned about His glory; and how your life might glorify Him may not be how you envisioned it. He does not promise you comforts and delights (in this life!). Quite the opposite: “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you." John 15:20
I was struck with how the great prophets reacted in God's presence. Isaiah declared "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Isaiah 6:5. And Ezekial, upon seeing his vision, said that "The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me.... And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days." Ezekial 3:14, 15b
Woe? Bitterness? THIS is how one feels in the presence of God??? We champion our "rights" to His throneroom - without realising what it is we are talking about! We pray, wimpy little prayers, without realising the power and magnificence that is truly there!!!! Oh! If we saw who we were talking to - we might not be so blase. We might tremble. We might be overwhelmed for an entire week. But we would not be fake any longer. We might just realise too, how important God is. How paying lipservice to Him for an hour on Sunday just does not cut it. Someone told me recently that they were not ready to go Home yet - because they have not lived the last few years in a God-exalting fashion. You will find it again! We will find Him, when we search for Him with all our heart! Oh, sisters and brothers in Christ - let us not waste another moment - let us stand in the throne room and marvel! Let us tremble - and then get about our business of serving Him, our Master, with every fibre of our being! Do not tarry a moment longer!
I am not sure how many times I have heard this trite summary of the gospel. Surely more than I can count right now. Think bumper stickers, youth group rallies.... and it is an excellent summary of the modern gospel (just throw in a "just the way you are" after "God loves you" first)
But - the wonderful, amazing truth is that while God surely loves you, and His plans are wonderful - He is most concerned about His glory; and how your life might glorify Him may not be how you envisioned it. He does not promise you comforts and delights (in this life!). Quite the opposite: “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you." John 15:20
I was struck with how the great prophets reacted in God's presence. Isaiah declared "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Isaiah 6:5. And Ezekial, upon seeing his vision, said that "The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me.... And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days." Ezekial 3:14, 15b
Woe? Bitterness? THIS is how one feels in the presence of God??? We champion our "rights" to His throneroom - without realising what it is we are talking about! We pray, wimpy little prayers, without realising the power and magnificence that is truly there!!!! Oh! If we saw who we were talking to - we might not be so blase. We might tremble. We might be overwhelmed for an entire week. But we would not be fake any longer. We might just realise too, how important God is. How paying lipservice to Him for an hour on Sunday just does not cut it. Someone told me recently that they were not ready to go Home yet - because they have not lived the last few years in a God-exalting fashion. You will find it again! We will find Him, when we search for Him with all our heart! Oh, sisters and brothers in Christ - let us not waste another moment - let us stand in the throne room and marvel! Let us tremble - and then get about our business of serving Him, our Master, with every fibre of our being! Do not tarry a moment longer!
2 comments:
nikk
this reminds me of the book 'downpour' by james macdonald. he goes through the bible and pulls out throne room scenes and then describes the Holiness of God and how our generation (and many other's) have forgotten this aspect of GOd. we forget that He is to be FEARED and that we are to stand in AWE or fall on our faces. HOLYHOLYHOLY, SO utterly different than us, than anything we could think up .
how sad that we have lost sight of our NEED and of our depravity, and lost sight of God's Holiness. how much differently would we all live if we recognized this in ourselves everyday???
yikes. i need a big picture on the wall of God saving me as a reminder! haha.
love ya. su
ranting. long winded. you know me.
You mini-blog on your comments Susan, you might as well commit to writing your own : )
Thanks again - you just "get me" all the time!
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