Compassion

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger for ever, because he delights in showing clemency. He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old. (Micah 7:18-20, NRSV)

Have you ever really thought about this?

I mean we love the fact that God pardons all of our transgressions, sins, wrong doings, but why should He?

I mean He is the creator of everything, why should He put up with us?

He puts up with us and forgives us because He is compassionate, and loves to love His children. Just like a father who loves to hold his child close to him and feel them breathing, that is what God loves to do with you, and if He did not forgive you, He could never do this.

God is compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love!

wait for it…

Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. (Isaiah 51:1-3, NRSV)

When we seek the Lord and follow Him our lives are automatically sunshine and roses, right?

No! We know that life does not work that way. Just because we are in a relationship with the author and creator of the universe does not mean that we do not know pain, or suffering. We still are alive here in this world and therefore our sinfulness and humanness are a part of the picture.

But God does promise that there are blessings in store for us, if we follow and wait for it. Good things come to those who wait, and the blessing we will get from God will be well worth the wait.

So wait for it… wait for it…

Lost

‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost. (Matthew 18:10-14, NRSV)

Are the sheep that are in the fold in danger? They could be but there is safety in numbers. Now yes a wolf could come in and scare a group and get a sheep. But the idea here is that Jesus cares for those who have left the fold and are searching for greener pastures.

He cares for the wanderer so much that He is willing to leave the fold on the mountain and go searching for the one that is lost. He will risk everything, in fact He already did. He gave His life for the lost sheep…

So we can not despise or look down upon those who are not in the fold, because once you were not in the fold. But because Jesus loved you enough to go looking for you, you are now here. So look on those who are searching for greener pastures with love and help them to find our great shepherd!

High Priest

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16, NRSV)

The high priest was the one who stood as the mediator between the people and God. He was the one who offered the sacrifices for the people and went into the Holy of Holies to be with God for the people.

And we have the greatest high priest anyone could ask for. He has suffered with us and knows our pain and our weaknesses. He knows the trials and tribulations we face. He knows what it is to live in this world.

So lean on your high priest and trust in the grace and mercy He gives to us, and know He will never leave us or forsake us.