I recently read Psalms 136 to 139 followed by Hebrews 7 to 8:7 and whilst reading it, I pondered on a question that I had and wondered if I should ask the Lord. However, I conceded because the bible says he knows our thoughts - so I entered into a dialogue with the Lord which I will share shortly.
We know that the Lord is sovereign, he’s powerful and mighty — he’s beautiful and majestic, we only need to see through the creation of the world he made, to know he is beautiful. When I think of Psalms 139 and how we are intricately woven together in our mother’s womb, how we are perfectly knitted together in the image of him - it’s amazing! When I sit back and ponder on the Lord, I have to give him praise for his goodness - His glory is beyond anything we can comprehend - we cannot fathom his entirety!
After reading Hebrews chapters 7 & 8, where it talks about Christ being the order of Melchizedek, I came to a halt at 8:7 which says “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.” ESV. And it got me thinking, I had to ask the Lord what was on my heart, now I have to caveat that with, I am very transparent with the Lord because he knows and sees all things. In Psalm 139 it talks about Yahweh knowing what my thoughts are and what my day will look like when I wake up; he is aware, so there is no need to hide anything from him. However, I was acutely aware of who I was speaking to at this point, I was no longer speaking to my Father, I was speaking with a Sovereign God and there was a slight fear, and if I’m honest I felt the need to ask God for forgiveness because of my question.
However, despite the fear, I asked the question which was “Lord, why make us? what was the point? You knew that the commandments given by Moses were just for the outward and therefore, no one would have been able to keep them, because the power was not there to transform the heart and/or the mind.” He then reminded me “there were some who were faithful who was able to adhere to them.” So then I followed up with another daring question “why didn’t you just bring Christ from the beginning? You knew from the start what you were going to do when Adam and Eve fell, as you talk about a Seed bruising the serpent’s head in Genesis 3. I’ll take it a step further, you knew satan was going to fall, but you still went ahead and made the world. You knew, you were going to be hurt by them, by us, you knew that you would have regretted making us (Genesis 6:6), you knew we would disappoint and hurt you over and over again, why would you put yourself through this?” and the response I received which brought me to tears was, “because of how much I love you.”
Having that revelation, and seeing what the Lord was willing to go through, the rejection, the pain, and the disappointment… we get so easily offended or disheartened and we struggle to forgive, how much more God. He has every right to not forgive us, he has every right to not listen to us, but he loves us and is willing to wait and be patient, be long-suffering, to be merciful, and show grace even when we don’t deserve it.
I have to serve the Lord, how can I not - this is a love that we can’t find in the world. This is a love that we will never receive from our spouse or child, this is a love that is everlasting and I want to be in the presence of his holiness all the time and let him know I am sorry for all my faults and sinful ways, that he knows that I am thankful for his saving grace - I’m sorry Lord, I am so sorry.
It’s not even about what he did on the cross, which is so profound within itself, but if we read from his word right from the beginning, he displayed such love and kindness, from the beginning(!) the love was already there! We sing that song, “for God so love the world that he gave us, his one and only son to save us for God so love, God so love the world.” Now I don’t know about you but, when I’ve sang that song, I don’t think I’ve ever really comprehended the verse. I knew he gave his son and I knew what he bore on the cross so that I may be redeemed by his precious blood. However, when you start to spend more and more time in the Old Testament and seeing how patient God was with the Israelites, even before that, with Adam and Eve, and the Lord providing for them even though they fell into sin - making a piece of clothing to cover up their nakedness, their shame of the sin that they committed. That’s love! Despite the hurt he felt.
He didn’t want this, he didn’t want any of it, this, a sinful, fallen world, is not what God wanted for his people. He never wanted us to be separated from the love of who he is, and as you read throughout his word, he does everything he can to demonstrate his love for us and drawing us to Him. Yet, people still reject him, people still get in their own way.
Please I’m begging, pleading with you - his love is insurmountable, cannot be measured - there is no love like this in the world - none! To be completely honest, we don’t actually know what love is until we come to know the Lord for ourselves and then we discover love really does cover a multitude of sins. I’m still discovering love for people, even when they do me wrong. Let’s be in the love of the Lord. Amen x