Oh How He loves me!

Many of my writings are dealing with the often difficult walk we have as Christians.  I can sometimes neglect the elephant in the room ... that my Father in heaven loves me and you totally.  I have a fair knowledge of the workings of the cross and can readily explain some of the achievements of Calvary.   It is often good to come out from the Greek text and theology to gaze at the plain truth of the cross:  This is the length my Father in Heaven would go to rescue me from my self.  His love for me is THAT much... that he would crush His own Son in order for me to be off the hook.  Let's have a 'Selah' moment, a moment to really have that sink in.

God, the creator of the universe, has such a regard toward me that He would allow his innocent Son to receive the penalty for my sin - something that is an act of pure rebellion towards Him.  So it is more important that I will forever be with Him than it is that I wilfully do the opposite of His will. God knew that once He shows me Jesus, He would be the darling of my existence.  And the wildest thing about that is my Father in Heaven gives me the ability to see Jesus this way.  

About 10 years ago I wrote a song called 'Who you are' and the idea was to get away from the practise of assessing our lives to see God's love based on 'stuff.'  From the idea that 'stuff' underlines our blessing gives rise to the prosperity gospel - a false teaching that our status, wealth, possessions or level of notoriety in Christian circles is an indication of God's blessing.  All of these CAN be blessing from God but not necessarily a system of blessing.  Much of the church today are trying to appear blessed by accumulating things.  The problem we have is starting points.  Has your life accumulated things from the hand of God or are you demonstrating the hand of God by accumulating things?  The latter is an error.  Its not error to have things... its just wrong to point at them and use the things as an indication of blessing-levels.

My Father demonstrated His love for me at Calvary and by including me in the New Covenant before Creation (read Ephesians and Romans).  He gave me the most beautiful 'Eve', my wife, Helen.  He also blessed me with my Children who aren't so much children any more.  He blessed me with a life that has challenges, so I can grow.  He has blessed me by facilitating a life in a warm climate, something good for our health as a family.  He has also blessed me with work to be able to engage the western systems and structures we have to live in.  He has more recently allowed us to buy a house 600 meters from the Indian Ocean.  I can hear the waves from my bedroom.  The Lord has also blessed me by dragging me by the scruff of the soul out from the church systems that history formed.  He allowed me to see ekklesia as per the scriptures.  He is delivering me from a great enemy and threat to me... me!  He has given the grace to relay His truth through various means.  I give thanks for this and many more things daily.   He is lavishing his love on me and my family all the time.  

So do I have 'stuff?'  Yes!  But it's all from the hand of God.  And that means that whether we are well catered for or in poor circumstances (that has happened also) it is all from the hand of God. And that has to be enough!  Oh how He loves me to lavish this upon me, a sinner saved by Grace.  It will always be the cross that says "you are loved" by the Almighty Lord and Creator of all things. 

Gary Ward