His Greatest Creation

Good morning,

We read in Genesis 1:26-27 that, after creating this world, the Three-in-One decided to create mankind, a being unlike any other created thing, living or inanimate.  Mankind was the crowning touch of God's creation, the grand finale, a unique, mysterious "likeness" of God.  The writer of Ecclesiastes 3:11 proclaims that He "set eternity in the human heart".

God's desire was not for angels to rule over the rest of His creation, Earth.  It was for man to rule and reign over this planet.  But, beyond that, we see in Revelation 4:11 mankind was created, indeed all things/beings were created, for His good pleasure.  We read about Adam and Eve and God walking together in the Garden of Eden, having a kind of fellowship that we, in our fallen world, cannot yet know.  This demonstrates that we were created for intimate fellowship with God, to commune with Him, spirit to Spirit.

Even as he created our kind, though, He in His sovereignty knew His heart's desire would be thwarted by Adam and Eve's free will.  He knew that man would become trapped by the snares of the enemy. He knew, all Three knew, what sacrifice would be required to restore this fallen, human creation.

So, the love story of Christmas did not begin with Jesse or with David.  It began the moment we were conceived in the matchless mind of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The writer of Ecclesiastes goes on to say (3:11b): "no one can fathom what God has done, from beginning to end."  He is beyond our human comprehension.

Ann asks what causes us to pause in wonder.  This.

My friend, as I write tonight, is giving birth to a baby boy.  What joy!  A new life begins, with all its hopes and dreams and promises.  Our joy at the birth of our children is slight, when compared to the love and joy that sprang in the heart of the Godhead and spawned our race, all those eons ago.

Still, what God would decide to create a race of beings who He knew, They KNEW, would break their hearts?  They knew that the Son would be required to "empty Himself, taking the form of a servant, and being born in the likeness of man" (Philippians 2:7).  And, if that weren't enough, because that was NOT enough to restore us, to pay the penalty for our sin, They knew that He would wear that cloak of flesh for 33 years, before submitting Himself to the most shameful of deaths.

All for love, of us, of me.  Incomprehensible, unimaginable love, divine love beyond all human understanding!

Eternal Love + Perfect Understanding

Good morning,

Saturday afternoon while cruising social media I was horrified to learn that the husband of a dear friend had died. Suddenly.  What a tremendous shock that was to us, one of those smackdowns that just really pulls you up short.  It was not an "accidental" death.  He unexpectedly died of physical causes.  Hubster and I are so grieved for our friend's loss of her beloved husband.  I've been thinking about that a lot since then.

I had cooked a dinner Saturday night that was convenient for me, but not one of Hubster's favorites.   He was in a foul mood over his sports team losing (badly) that afternoon and (uncharacteristically) said that he just did not want that dinner I had prepared.  Thinking about how blessed I was to have him alive and sitting there spouting such "heresy", in total love and gratitude I offered to cook him anything he wanted.  "SPAM it is!  Coming right up!"

Sigh!
Love never fails.

Oh, my love for my husband frequently fails.  His love for me is imperfect.  I wrote on Saturday morning about "Mylanta Darlings", our loved ones who try our very souls from time to time.

But, I'm convinced of this scriptural truth: real love never fails.

God's perfect love for us certainly never fails.  I'm convinced that, in a similar manner, our God-like, selfless love for our loved ones will carry on into eternity as well.  The difference is that, here, our love for each other is still a poor imitation of God's love for us.  But, in Heaven, our love for each other will be perfect!

See, when we love each other on Earth, selflessly, imitating the way that Christ loved us, such agape love is eternal.  I'm so glad that our friends who suffered this sudden separation are Christians: strong, devoted believers.  I don't doubt at all that he is with our Savior.  I don't doubt at all that, when her time on earth is done, she will be in Heaven as well.  And, I believe that their love will be rekindled in that heavenly realm.

True, Jesus said that there would be no marrying or giving in marriage in Heaven.  That truth does not negate the love we have for one another.  Married or not, we will still love one another on the other side.  If we delight in each other here, we will delight in each other there.  If the souls of believers connect here, they will likewise re-connect there, with perfect love.

Before I left on the Peru trip, I bid my sons good-bye.  Telling the older one good-bye, I put my hand on his chest and said, "If the unthinkable happens, you will know where to find me. And, you know The Way there."

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11 When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12 We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

1 Cor. 13:8-13 The Message

Love never dies.  What a beautiful promise!  Separation from our loved ones, where they are in Heaven with our Savior and we are still here - - - is only for a brief moment, when measured in light of eternity.  I will see my loved ones again, because they, like me, were and are His!  He has promised not to lose any of those who belong to Him (John 17:12).

Next, Paul reveals another precious promise from God.  What a delightful surprise!  Listen now...

We will know, even as we are known 

(1 Cor. 13:12).  

Can you even imagine?
Aren't there times when it bursts out of you - - you have to rant and rave and scream, "I do not understand!!"  "Why, Lord?  Why?"  (Or, "Why not, Lord, why not?!")

The translator of The Message version describes us as squinting through a fog, other translations as trying to see our reflection in a poor quality mirror.  There is much that we don't understand on this side of eternity.  Very much.

How well does God know us?  Perfectly, completely!  He created each of us, after all.  He knows us "inside and out".  The apostle Paul, writing under divine inspiration, declares that....as well as God knows each of us, so will we then know Him.

Wait, WHAT?  Can you even conceive of knowing, loving and understanding God that well?  It blows my mind.  The old gospel song goes like this:

"By and by, when the morning comes, when the saints of God are gathered home, we will tell the story, how we've overcome, and we'll understand it better, by and by."1

Well....no.  That's not what Paul says.  He doesn't say we'll understand it better.  He declares with confidence that we will understand it perfectly!

Don't doubt it, for nothing is impossible with God (Matt. 19:26).

Now, to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.    
(Ephesians 3:20-21)

Source:
1 http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/e/welunder.htm