Thursday, September 30, 2010

Who do you think you are? . . . Knowing your role in relationship to God

For the second day in a row I am going to focus on the first part of the first passage I read in today's daily lectionary (which can be found here: http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/9/30/  ).  You have to trust me on this, but I really am reading all of the passages, but these first four verses from Psalm 116 strike me as illustrating an important point that we all too often miss.  So here are the verses:  

1I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
2Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4Then I called on the name of the LORD:
"O LORD, I pray, save my life!
So what is the point?  The point is knowing our role in our relationship with God.  The first verse above says, 'I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice . . .'.  We love God because  he first loved us.  Our love is attached to what God has done for us.  And our love is dependent on God.  
This is not something to be ashamed of or try to overcome, this is the way God designed it.  This is the way God designed it and it points to a bigger truth - everything begins with God.  We love God because he first loved us, but even more than that we love God because he created us and breathed life into our existence.  
We are not some cosmic or biological accident - God intentionally chose to create you and God intentionally chose to create me.  We were each individually and intentionally hand crafted by the creator and ruler of the entire universe.  Love and thanksgiving are literally the only things we can offer to God - we have nothing else that God desires, because everything starts with God.  God was and is first and everything else comes somewhere after.
Having this perspective and understanding gives us the real humility we need to effectively love, worship, serve and share God with others.  It is why the Word of God says that 'fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom'.  Fear is a natural response to our stature next to Gods.   We are nothing and God is everything.  We are one little person among billions, God is the very originator of everything.  Again fear is a natural and reasonable response, if something were to happen to us, would God even notice.  How inconsequential are we?  Who are we to God?
Haven't you been listening????  We are God's handiwork, individually, intentionally handcrafted (sown together in our mother's womb) by God.  And God loves all of his handiwork!  Who are we to God?  We are his beloved children, the family he loves and sacrifices for.  
We love God because God first loved us.
We love God because God created us.
We love God because we are but one of billions God hears our voice and our supplications.
We love God because God knows our needs and responds by caring and providing for us.
We love God because of the love that God continuously demonstrates to us - perfectly shown to us in the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
We need to know our role and have a proper perspective.
We are beloved children of God and our love is simply the only possible, reasonable response to God's unreasonable love for you and I.





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