Ocean of Grace (7): TUESDAY – All Love and Thankfulness (p30ff)

  

Lent Book: https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/an-ocean-of-grace

 

My jottings:

 

(Comments welcome)

 

Ocean of Grace (7): TUESDAY – All Love and Thankfulness (p30ff)

 

God, of course, comes “first” in every respect. He is eternal and pre-existence. Everything is all his initiative and grace all the way down. He is the unmoved mover. God’s love for us is prior to ours in salvation. But his overflowing love is also the basis of our very creation and being and of our continuation in existence.

Thinking of God’s love for us in all our filth and sin, we might think of the Biblical images of the people of God as his bride / unfaithful wayward wife. (Cf.  Isaiah 62:5; Jeremiah 2:2; Hosea; Ezekiel 16; Ephesians 5; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19-22) We have committed spiritual adultery by chasing after other “gods”. We deserve to be divorced, and yet he woos us back. He beautifies us and betrothes us to himself. He will cleanse and purify and adorn us for our wedding day.

Christ is our champion, our prince, who kills the dragon and gets the girl. The Bible is a love story, a romance, a heroic quest. Despite the tragedy of sin, it is a comedy which ends in a marriage.

 

God’s loving choice of us is his eternal purpose of election. Of course, he knows the end from the beginning. All time is “present” to him. But God’s foreknowledge of us is not to do with him anticipating or foreseeing goodness in us. He’s not placing a bet, however certain, on you or I coming up trumps with faith or good works. The word for “knowing” can be used much more relationally as when Adam “knew” his wife Eve. This is not about information! God chose us out of sheer undeserved love (grace), not because he thought Lloyd would be a good addition to his team. Cf. Deuteronomy 7:7.

 

Meditate again on all that Christ did for us: in our place and on our behalf and for our benefit. The pain was his; the reward ours. He did not deserve his sufferings and we do not deserve his glory. This is love, grace!

 

The fruit growing upon the cross is a striking image. The Bible sometimes calls the cross a tree. It is the tree of life to us. Think of the wonderful harvest of the death of Christ. We might relate this to the image of Jesus the vine: we are the branches called to be fruitful too. (John 15)

 

Jesus is also the grain which dies and is buried in the earth but which brings forth new life (John 12), thirty, sixty or a hundred times what was sown. In truth, many millions, billions of times what was sown. Jesus’ resurrection is the first fruits which guarantees the great crop to come. His resurrection is the first bluebell of spring, and soon there will be blooms as far as the eye can see, a great multitude that no one can number, covering the forest floor.

 

If you are tempted to sin today, think on the cross of Christ so that to choose to sin might seem unthinkable to you. If you are to get to sin, you have to trample over the wounds of Christ and despise the blood which he shed for you.

 

Remember that luxury, which seems so attractive and pleasant might actually “harass” and harm your soul.

 

Suggested hymn: My Song is Love Unknown

 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMart4wXsI0

 

Text etc.: https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/nt/96