Unflattering

I’ve been reflecting on a truth a lot lately… a somewhat unflattering truth.  I am reminded that I have been “made from dust.”  I am lowly and I have limited knowledge.  I can be ruled by any number of strong feelings that are here one minute, gone the next.  I am only an infinitesimally trivial fleck on an unfathomably tiny speck of a marble planet in a humbly small galaxy, where is merely one of (to the best of our painfully small knowledge) an infinite amount of universes.  Yet somehow, it is frightfully easy for me to think that I am some kind of a big deal.

This unflattering truth is unfortunately not unique to me or my situation.  Unflattering newsflash: I am speaking to the human condition.  I say all the time “perspective is everything,” but putting me in perspective is somewhat scary.  We as a human race are actually quite small and have yet to make even a drop in the bucket of significance in our great, vast universe.  Feeling tiny yet?

The real wonder in all of this, though, is the immensely great compassion God has for us.  We are a people who literally bring no benefit to Him whatsoever, but He cherishes us dearly.  Psalm 103:6-18 says this: “God makes everything come out right; He puts victims back on their feet.  God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, He’s rich in love.  He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever.  He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.  As high as Heaven is over the earth, so strong is His love to those who fear Him.  And as far as sunrise is from sunset, He separated us from our sins.  As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear Him.  He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.  Men and women don’t live very long; like wildflowers they spring up and blossom, but a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here.  God’s love, though, is ever and always, eternally present to all who fear Him, making everything right for them and their children as they follow His Covenant ways and remember to do whatever He said.”

What a stunning God who loves us and takes care of us.

Be reminded today, that God is in your corner and advocating on your behalf.  Though you may be weak and small, you are the beloved of the King of the world!  He has pledged Himself with a binding promise to be yours for all eternity.  What a love!  What a Friend!  What a God.

Much love,
Josh