In Genesis, God dwells with Adam and Eve in the beautiful garden of Eden. They lived in perfect harmony with an abundance of all they could have and only one thing they could not. The desire for the forbidden fruit overshadowed their thinking. They chose disobedience and death. But even in the punishment, we see God’s love seep into the punishment and provide a plan for future reconciliation.
In Exodus, God hears the cries of His people. In love, He miraculously rescues them from their oppression, and He plans to restore what they have lost by giving them a new home. An amazing bountiful land where other people have labored and established a homeland for them. Yet sadly, the people trust in their own instincts and not in God. They spend the next forty years in misery and disobedience. Yet, even in their wanderings God stays with them in the pillar of fire & cloud and in the tent of meeting.
In Deuteronomy, you see a new generation rise up who desire to trust God. Early in the book, they pledge to obey God with all of their hearts, minds and souls. God rewards them and with Joshua’s leadership they arrive into the Promised Land. As time goes by, and Joshua passes away, the people begin to drift away from God and towards other lesser gods.
In Judges we read story after story of God desiring His people to obey Him but witnessing their recurrent cycles of sin. His love keeps providing a new hero (judge) to rescue His people from the consequences of their own disobedience. The recurrent theme of the book of Judges is, “…everyone did what was right in his own eyes”.
In the book of Samuel, we see Israel again reject the Lord and demand an earthly king like all the other nations. God, again, responds with love and mercy and allows them to have an earthly king. The second King of Israel, King David, was a man after God’s own heart. However, David fails to be obedient to the Lord’s commands. David repents but still receives the full repercussions of his sin. But God, once again, steps in and loves His creation despite their failures. In His love, He tells David that the promised Messiah would come through David’s lineage.
As you read through the books of the prophets, we are told over and over again how Israel would walk in the “way of the Lord” for a time. Then they would slowly begin to be enticed away from God until they were in complete disobedience and their lives were a wreck. In their low point of desperation, they would cry out to God. God had every reason to abandon those who had abandoned Him, but He chose instead to rescue them over and over again.
In the last book of the Old Testament Malachi, the prophet tells the people that the Lord sees all, righteous and unrighteous. The Lord has strong words for the disobedient, but He also affirms the remnant of true believers. The book ends with the Lord reminding them to remember the Law but also to look forward with anticipation of the promised Messiah. The Law will bring wrath on the sinful, but God promises a path to reconciliation.
Then for 400 years, God remained silent.
Until one night, in the town of Bethlehem, a tiny baby boy was born. In His persistent, relentless love, He came to us. The undeserving, stubborn, often hard hearted, many times disobedient, self-seeking human race.
In the story of the Prodigal son in Luke 15, we are told that
“while the son was still a long way off, the father was filled with compassion for him and
ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
That is exactly what the love of God did for us!
“… at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very
rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might
possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)
The phrase “but God” is probably my favorite phrase of the whole Bible! He loves us despite of our actions. From the very beginning, He created a plan to allow His one and only Son to step down into creation. Being fully man and fully God, Jesus allowed Himself to take on the sins of all past, present and future. In His love, He ran to us, dwelled with us, died for us, was resurrected for us and sent His Spirit to live in us. That is true love.
In this season, as we give gifts to show our love to those around us, I pray that you will take time to remember the greatest gift ever given...God’s love.
Craft & Recipe
Scented Ornament
This ornament will fill the air of your home with scents of the season and be a reminder of God's love.
Whoopie Pies
These cake-like cookies will melt in your mouth and they are perfect for sharing.
Love the story how God always loves us and takes care of us. It’s the same today as it was back hundreds of years ago. I love all the wonderful stories the Bible has in it about our Lord and Savior! Thanks for posting!🙏😊