To
the One who remembered us in our
low
estate His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:23 NIV
In the beginning God created: heaven and
earth, moon and sun, plants and animals and finally man. In the beginning God
walked in the garden with Adam and Eve. In the beginning—perfection! Then rebellion
and sin brought shame, condemnation and separation from God. But God already
had a plan to restore man’s relationship to God.
God sent an angel to a young couple to
explain a child would be born to them through the Holy Spirit from God. Joseph
learned that this child was coming to “save His people from their sins.” (Matthew
1:21 NIV)
Mary
learned that He would be called “the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:31 NIV)
Finally, after centuries
of man’s rebellion, the Christ Child arrived and God’s grace took on human
form.
Just like other men His sandaled feet got
dusty when walking the roads. He grew thirsty and hungry and learning the trade
of a carpenter like His earthly father, Joseph, would have supplied His fingers
with splinters and perhaps a callous or two. His body needed bathing, His hair
needed washing and His fingernails needed cleaning. Yet He remained God!
During the three short years of His
earthly ministry, Jesus experienced everything that you and I experience. Pain
and suffering both emotionally and physically, joy and sorrow, great love and
great loss were all part of His life as man.
Do not be mistaken. This was not some kind
of great experiment. This was not God grasping at straws to change His
creation. This was not an accident. Rather, this was the Plan of Redemption
from the beginning. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the
world through Him.” (John 3:16-17 NIV)
God’s hand-delivered grace to an
ungrateful people came in human form as He remembered us in our low estate. God
is real, and His love endures forever. If you are hopeless, He is your hope. If
you are despondent, He is your joy. If you are lonely, He is your Father,
friend and companion. Whatever you need, whatever I need—He Is!
During this Thanksgiving
Week I remain thankful that my God is real and He loves me. I pray that if you
have not experienced the grace of God through His redemption plan, Jesus, today
will be your day.
©JP
2013
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