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Ex. 20
I am in awe that this God of thunder and lightning, trumpet blast and smoke, who made the very mountains quake, has made Himself approachable to me. No longer do we have to stand at a distance, trembling in fear at the sight and sound of Him. Now, by the miracle of His great mercy, that same powerful, awesome presence exists within those who belong to Him. How humbled and grateful I am for God’s mercy! Let me never take it for granted!
Luke 23
God’s story, revealed to us in the Bible, amazes me. The story tells us all about how God acted on our behalf. But it also shows that He always gives us more than just the action itself. Every event that took place as part of God’s plan doubled as a demonstration of what it means for us. I see at least a couple of examples of this in the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. First is Barabbas. Jesus died, innocent of the charge of insurrection brought against him, while Barabbas, guilty of the same charge went free. Jesus quite literally died in his place. Thus, in the physical event of Jesus’ crucifixion, we get a demonstration of its purpose.
And then there is Simon the Cyrene, who carried the cross behind Jesus. In that moment, Simon became a living demonstration of Jesus’ words, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matt. 16:24). He presented a very vivid picture of how we share in Christ’s suffering in order to share in His glory. I don’t know about you, but I would gratefully carry the cross I was meant to die on for the One who chose to die on that cross in my place. Since that is exactly what I am doing when I suffer through trial and tribulation in this life, let me suffer with gratitude that my suffering does not lead to death.
Job 38
I would like to understand God’s rebuke of Job, but it’s hard to know which of Job’s barely understandable words he spoke without knowledge. The things that come to me the most clearly are Job’s accusations that God attacked him and that God didn’t care. To these, God seems to answer here that Job can’t possibly understand His ways and that God most certainly cares for all of His creation. I think maybe God is okay with our laments because, whether justified or not, He knows that we are weak. When we try to assume God’s perspective on the matter, though, we speak without knowledge. As Elihu pointed out yesterday, God has many different reasons for doing what He does. Job may have suffered without cause, but it was not without purpose. And sometimes the best we can do is simply endure, trusting that God is good in His purpose.