It Never Crossed His Mind!

"...to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind." Jeremiah 7:31

I have been reading in Jeremiah, and when I first read this verse it seemed odd but important so I read it again. In context, the Lord is reflecting on the ways in which his people have turned from him. He talks about how they have built high places to other gods and then this verse appears where he describes what they have done at these high places: they have sacrificed their own children. I think for most of us this is an unthinkable act, but as I reflected on this verse something shocking gripped me. The Lord tells his people that He never commanded them to sacrifice their children, nor did it ever cross his mind to ask this of them! The amazing truth hidden in this verse is that He never thought to ask this of them because from the beginning of time He had determined to sacrifice his son instead. They were not wrong to believe that a sacrifice was necessary, but they were wrong to believe that they could purchase their atonement through the blood of their sons and daughters. This atonement could only come from one place and it was from the sacrifice of the perfect son of God. This means that from the moment we sinned, God in his great love for us, had determined to sacrifice his son in our place. It never crossed his mind to require us to pay the appropriate price for our sin! Unlike any other god, He had the right to demand the lives of not only our sons and daughters but ours as well. Instead, He knew from the beginning of time that our creation would require the life of his son and still He created us and chose to bestow his love on us. This truth humbles me as I consider how many times I have begun my day choosing to believe the lie that I am not valuable; or the number of times in my life that I have questioned God's good intentions toward me. If ever you find yourself believing this, remember that the Lord chose to create you knowing the cost to himself and his beloved son. Never did it cross his mind to leave you to your sin or its appropriate punishment. Rather, from the beginning he ordered all of history for the benefit of your atonement. For the benefit of his reunion with his precious children!

To Save a Life

Last night I watched a movie called To Save a Life. The movie is well done and addresses a lot of things, but the one that stands out is judgment. It displays various sides of this issue all of which stem from the judgment that another person is not worthy. The most evident example is given through the social shunning of a high school kid who has a limp. No one knew how much pain he was in, not because it wasn't evident, but because they had judged him unworthy long before sympathy had a chance to cross their minds. It is tempting for me to think that I have done well in this area. The Lord's work in my life and placement of me in other's lives has drawn me close to people with disabilities and unpopular people, and I have been tremendously blessed by them. Still yet, I can't help but think that there are those that I have missed in my business. The movie shows another kind of judgment though, one I know that I am guilty of. The judgment of popular people. In high school they are literally the popular kids. In college they may be the athletes or the charmers. After college they may be the ones with good jobs that seem to have it made. Often, they are the "beautiful people" regardless of the stage of life. I must confess that these are the people that I am most guilty of judging. I have watched them more times than I can count, and though the words have never left my mouth, things like fake, idiot, hotshot, liars have all crossed my mind. I have looked at them and judged their character long before I looked in their eyes. I have envied them without even considering their pain. I have written them off as "one of those" on first sight. For this, I confess that I have been wrong and I ask forgiveness. Our Lord never judged anyone based on appearances, he looks at the heart, and with his presence in us we have the opportunity to do the same. May we be like him and judge all who we come in contact with to be worthy based on his love for them.

"...For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7