The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"To Hurt"
No verse of the Bible more powerfully proclaims the love of God than the first one.
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
Eternity will not suffice in our fully comprehending the nature of the Creator. Consider. A Being without need, forever infused by His own triune nature with infinite fulfillment, joy, peace, satisfaction, and devotion between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, nevertheless purposed to make something other than Himself. He executed His purpose, determining in accordance with His nature that conscious beings - angelic and human - would be graced with the freedom to either lovingly relate to Him or not. He knew this would result in some angels and all humans choosing to turn away from Him. This would lead Him to act redemptively through His Son, who would become "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). Thus, the Creator without need made all things in the full knowledge of the consequences of His handiwork to Himself.
This may explain a seeming enigma found in the pages of the Bible.
"Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?" (Isaiah 40:28).
"In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed" (Exodus 31:17).
How could a God who cannot faint or become weary be "refreshed?" (from the Hebrew "napas," meaning to take a breath after becoming tired). Certainly, in the sense of activity and exertion, no possibility of weariness exists in the almighty God. However, another consideration speaks to the possibility.
"Hear ye now, O house of David. Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?" (Isaiah 7:13).
The weariness of exertion is one thing; the weariness of emotion is another. No possibility exists in the former regarding the almighty God. However, much possibility exists regarding the latter concerning His creation…
"It repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart" (Genesis 6:6).
When God made all things, He did so in love, the love that was willing to know a reality He had never before known. Creation meant that God would experience pain. He would suffer grief of heart throughout history because of angelic rebellion and human sin. He would also know pain of soul and body in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Realizing this, He nevertheless chose to create because His nature of love led Him to desire that others would exist upon whom He might shower forth His goodness and devotion. This truth ignites Genesis 1:1 with a flame of wondrous and holy illumination. In the very first verse of the Bible, the love of God shines forth in glorious revelation of who He is. In such sublime light, we do well to frequently thank our Lord for the simple fact that He made us. This is why. At a cost beyond any measure we will ever know, our Lord brought something into existence other than Himself. Creation necessitated the cross, along with all other Divine grief and sorrow God would never have known had He not made all things.
Ten words open the Scriptural revelation. Even more, "the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" ushers us into the Bible that declares the God of "exceeding joy" who was willing to embrace untold sorrow by making all things (Ephesians 3:19; Psalm 43:4). "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." Never will we fully comprehend the measure of the Lord whose love led Him to create, and… to hurt.
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
(Ephesians 2:4-7)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised."
(Hebrews 10:23)
6598
No comments:
Post a Comment