Sorry about posting three verses in one day, but for some reason I couldn't cut and paste the last two entries, until today - go figure. So be sure to check out 1 Peter 1:20, 21 and 22. They're all here!
1 Peter 1:20
“Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. (V18) For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, (V19) but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.(V20) He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.(V21) Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”
I used to think that sin caught God off-guard. I imagined God sitting down in the garden after confronting Adam and Eve and saying, “Wow. I didn’t see that coming. What am I going to do now?” And then hundreds of years later having an epiphany, “Hey – I’ll send my Son to die for everyone’s sin. That’ll work!” The bible tells a different story.
Before God hovered over the infinite void, before He spoke a word of creation, God chose His son to die for humanity. He knew that the as-yet created man would choose sin and need the blood of His only Son to redeem them. Yet God created man anyway, knowing what His Son would have to suffer on their, our, account…that astounds me. One of my commentaries says this:
“What God had in mind from all eternity came to birth in Bethlehem, to fulfillment on Calvary, to victory at the Resurrection, to exaltation on the mount of Ascension, and is even now coming to consummation. This grand sweep of God’s glorious gospel staggers the mind, humbles the heart, and subdues the whole being in silent adoration.”
And it has all been revealed in these last times… for your sake. God works on a universal and eternal scale, but His magnificent work finds its home in simple lives. God, the impartial judge, knew that we would be unable to bridge the chasm of sin that separates us from Him. So He sent His Son to live and to die so that our relationship with Him might be restored. This act of loving sacrifice was not an afterthought, a patch job, or a last ditch idea – it was the plan all along.
As I mentioned before – that astounds me. We serve a marvelous God!
No comments:
Post a Comment