By Lynda MacFarland

 

By Giles Watson via Flikr Creative Commons

 

I’m studying the Old Testament right now, and one thing this has led me to ponder is that God’s will for all creation is for blessing, which means the power of life! I also learned that a curse is the power of death, but God always wants to bless us.

Now, I suppose I’ve always known that or have for decades of my adult life, but it was such a concise, powerful way to say that truth. And, though I learned this from the Old Testament, of course, it relates to the New Testament as we now view this truth through the reality of Jesus Christ.

Instead of giving up on us in disgust and disappointment and so cursing us, turning us over to the power of death, God once again, though in an ultimate gesture, shows His amazing merciful love and blesses us with His Son to take on our sin and save us. We are given a chance at life, everlasting life if we turn to Him in humility and sorrow for our transgressions.

Humans, from the very beginning, have been called to share in God’s creative action, but God also gave us the freedom to embrace that or reject it. Too many reject it, tragically. We are all given a chance upon chance to receive God’s blessing, however. He is so generous, so willing to forgive and bless us again and again.

Something else I’ve learned is that everything God created is beautiful! Yes, in Genesis, we read that God saw it was “very good,” but it turns out that a more accurate definition of the word in the book of Genesis is ‘beautiful.’ God is not just moral but also aesthetic! So, creating this beautiful world filled with beautiful things was an artistic enterprise for God!

I love that!

We’re human, and given that pesky free will, we smudge the beauty. Our sins are like a mark on the precious work of art, in ourselves, and in creation itself. The stories of Genesis always follow a simple pattern. God gives us a beautiful gift, and we sin; there are consequences (punishment) for that sin. But in the end (of each story), God’s grace has the final say. God, again and again, gives us His grace, blessing us with His Life. The ultimate expression found in Jesus Christ. The most amazing grace, the biggest blessing that we cannot even truly comprehend, is Jesus.

So, as we await the coming of Jesus, let us recall the incredible blessing (power of life) that God bestows upon us in giving us His only Son to redeem us. We see God’s mercy and repeatedly love throughout the Old Testament, constantly taking back the people who so disappoint Him out of His great love for them. His justice is always tempered by His mercy.

And so we owe God everything, quite literally.

Come, Lord Jesus! We await your arrival with such joy and hope! You display for us all the love God has for us; all the mercy He has to give us; you show us how to live lives of justice, peace, and mercy.

 

About the author:

Lynda loves Jesus and her fondest desire is to encourage others in their faith journey toward Home. She prays often that the things she does will glorify God and advance His Kingdom. Lynda is the author of one book (so far!), Drowning In Lemonade – Reflections of an Army Wife, and has a blog at www.drowning-in-lemonade.com