Thursday, December 19, 2019

"A Sublime Beauty"


The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…


 "A Sublime Beauty"

    

     Much of the sublime beauty of God's grace would never have been known if sin had not occurred in His creation.  This does not mean that He determined the darkness of devils and humanity.  "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man" (James 1:13).  However, our Heavenly Father is ready to deal with any contingency for the purpose of revealing and honoring His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He therefore takes advantage of the opportunity afforded by our sins to reveal glories that would have remained hidden within His heart apart from the existence of evil.  

    At the highest cost to Himself, God made a way to pardon sinners without violating His integrity.  "Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" declared the Apostle John.  Moreover, the Apostle Paul affirmed that our Savior's redemptive work made it possible for our Heavenly Father to be "just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (John 1:17; Romans 3:26).  The light of such glory reveals a beauty of character beyond all fathoming.  Indeed, the Lord Jesus told His disciples, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).  Christ, however, transcended His own standard when He sacrificed Himself not for friend, but for foe.  "When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son" (Romans 5:10).  This is grace, again, a sublime beauty of Divine character that arose within God's heart when we fell, and then set forth on a bloody path that ultimately led to sacrifice, sorrow, forsakenness, and death on the cross of Calvary.  Sin thus served as a dark canvas upon which God's glorious heart displays its goodness to those who open their eyes to see that which the carol writer aptly described - "wonders of His love." 

   Had we never known sin, we would have never known grace to any degree such as we find in the Scriptures and in our lives.  The proper knowledge of this truth leads us to desire and devote ourselves to a holiness of life whereby we avail ourselves of so great a gift, but never with the attitude of taking advantage of God's merciful favor provided in Christ.  The believer knows that grace freely given involved the horror of a cross freely embraced for our redemption.  We see with our hearts the prints that still remain on our Savior's resurrected body as the tangible evidence of a price paid for pardon provided.  Sublime beauty indeed, as even eternity will now allow adequate opportunity to fully appreciate the grace that forever flows and sparkles with glories that would have never been seen had sin never occurred.  We fall to our knees and faces in wonder, acknowledging we can never understand such mystery, but determined to love and magnify the blessed One of whom John exulted…

"The light shineth in darkness."
(John 1:5)
"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
(Romans 5:20:21)

Weekly Memory Verse
   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
(Ephesians 1:3)
  


















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