Thursday, April 24, 2014

He Cares About You -- Inconceivable (Yet True!)

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5: 6-7)

He cares about you and me.

God cares about you and me.

How long will it take for us to receive this wonderful truth?

For me, it has taken too long, and I am tired of working so hard, and getting so little for all that I do.

Have you noticed that all our efforts are strained, and often fail?

The A-student streak which our public schools impress (or rather impose) on students makes young people think that our efforts, our striving according to the set rules of someone else's games cause us to succeed.

That is simply not true.

Then comes AA, which offers twelve suggestions, but which turn into a list of requirement, because to drink is to die according to the "anonymous" writers of the Big Book.

This Great Big God has made all things for us, at least that was the plan in the Beginning.

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:" (Genesis 2: 16)

When man fell, God already had a plan in mind not just to redeem, not just to restore, but to promote us:

"
14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3: 14-15)
 
When Jesus died on the Cross, the following took place:
 
"3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1:3-6)
 
And then
 
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: " (Ephesians 2: 1-6)
 
John follows all of this with these powerful statements of identity:
 
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 John 3: 1)
 
and then
 
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)
 
Because we are in Christ, accepted in the Beloved and thus Beloved, we can come boldly to God our Father for all needs, which He will meet according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19)
 
This wonderful God is inconceivable, and therefore any religion, any "spiritual system" which invites people to choose their own conception of God is doing themselves a grave disservice, as well as dishonor God's goodness, by relying on their limited view of God and themselves, convinced that they are left to their own devices in this deceitful, discredited world.
 
That is not the case. We are not alone, and we need never feel lonely, because He cares for us.

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