Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Treasures

Until recently, I didn't give much thought to the fact that freedom is a really big deal to God- so big, in fact, that He created us with free wills and gave us the option of making some really foolish choices. For some reason, He wasn't satisfied with making robots and placing them in a perfect Garden with only the best and loveliest of everything. No, He created humans in His image, and then put the option of a very bad choice right smack in the middle of their paradise. I don't know about you, but that's definitely not what I would have done! If there had to be a bad choice, surely it would have been a good idea to put it far away, well hidden from sight, or then build a tall fence around it plastered with lots of "Danger-Keep-Out" signs. But that wasn't God's way. Why, I've been asking myself, why did God do this? How could He put Himself at such a huge risk, knowing all the while the heartbreak we would cause Him? And the only answer I get is, because He had a plan- a plan for the worst case scenario- and that plan was redemption! Something inside of me (my personal John the Baptist, I like to think) leaps for joy every time this thought hits me. Redemption and reconciliation... it has been God's heart from eternity past. Jesus, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world! Now this truth is the best news I've ever heard, but the real question is, what does it look like in my own life? How does this play out in my relationships with others? "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves." (2 Cor. 4:7) God chose to put His greatest treasure -His own glorious image in the person of Jesus- into our hearts. And maybe it wasn't so much "in spite of" our weakness and sinfulness, but "because of" -that the world would know that the power is God's and not our own. Suddenly I am looking at my fellow believers with a brand new perspective. God put His greatest treasure in him?! God took the risk of putting His treasure in her?! How can I possibly criticize them, their immaturity, their twisted way of viewing life? Oh, if we could capture God's heart for redemption and reconciliation, imagine how our relationships would be transformed! Instead of controlling each other and putting the pressure on for performance, we could relax and be free to just LOVE! Love our spouses, our children, our fellow believers, our leaders. Love them gladly, freely, and abundantly. Love them with the love of God Himself, drawing them right into His marvelous kingdom. Believing so firmly in God's power to redeem and save that we just love, love, love!

Oh, yes! Let's do it!

1 comment:

Linda said...

I need this reminder. Today.
Danke.