Beauty, Romance, Love, and Significance

Wow, tonight was one of those night where God has just been moving in my heart in some big ways, teaching me some simple things that hold heavy meaning. It was 2:30 AM, and I was out relaxing in our hot tub (which is an AWESOME thing to have - we got it cheap, too!) looking up at the full moon shining onto the puffy white clouds surrounding it, just the extravagant sky God had painted for me to see, and it was just a lovely time. This was right after my quiet time, too, so God was already working heavy on my heart, and just seeing the sheer scope of the beauty one stretch of sky could have made me start thinking more and more about our Father God, and these four words hit me, in this order: Beauty, Romance, Love, and Significance.

Beauty. There is so much beauty in this world, but if we go too fast, and, literally, don't take time to stop and smell the flowers, we can miss it. Take a look at the flowers, trees, plants - even weeds! - and you can see just the raw beauty and creativity of God. The Bible says that God crowned US, human beings, with his 'Glory and Honor. [He] gave [us] charge over everything [He] has made; putting all things under [our] authority.' (Psalm 8:5b-6) In Hebrews, it goes on to say "Now, when it says 'all things,' it means nothing is left out.' (2:8b). All things! Created for US to oversee, to be over, to enjoy and to live in. Every beautiful thing of nature, every waterfall, flower, tree, mountain, planet, galaxy - all made for us, by the One who loves us dearly.

But beauty doesn't stop there. There is beauty in God's most precious creation - us! There is beauty in every child. I spent years in children's ministry, and as I think about what I know children are capable of knowing and doing, it blows my mind and rattles my heart. There's beauty in their innocence, in their smiles, in their endless happiness and energy, there's beauty in their giving, loving hearts, and there's beauty in the futures!

There's beauty in every woman. Graceful, elegant, rapturous beauty; with wisdom grounded in their hearts, and love for all things. Women personify perfectly God's love, mercy, and nurturing characteristics, and He has made them beautiful.

There's beauty in every man, too! Valiant, heroic leaders willing to fight for what they believe in. With strength, wisdom, vigor, men have in them the beauty of leadership, of God's fathering and teaching characteristics, and the beauty of love.

Beauty is all around us, and God desires us to take notice of it, and especially enjoy it! Which leads me to my next point...

Romance. To pursue, enjoy, and grasp the beauty in this world, in a lover, or God himself is really a biblical definition of 'romance.' The fully delve into the beauty God has offered us freely, simply for our enjoyment, is a beautiful thing. The intimacy God, the almighty king of EXISTENCE offers ME a deep, personal relationship with him, free of charge. I'll touch on this more in a moment.

But not only did he freely offer me salvation, but he's given me - us - this wonderful, romantic, awesome place we call 'earth' to live in. You see in the locked eyes of every couple. You see it in the beauty the rain joining the swaying pedals of a flower. You see it in the sacrifice Jesus gave us. That is romance in it's purest, holiest form.

Love. It wasn't even that I loved God or that I was a Christian he did all of that for me; the Bible makes it perfectly clear 'While I was still a sinner, Christ died for ME.' (Romans 5:8). He loved me enough to initiate the relationship with me - with US! - that while I was still his enemy, he loved me more than I can still fathom. That type of love - love that God IS (1 John 4:8) shakes me to my care when I see the beauty and romance in all of creation. I could write volumes on the love of God - it's so massive and mind-boggling. Love is that not only did God create us, not only did he give us an amazing world, not only did he let us live after sinning against him, not only did he die and conquer death itself on out behalf, but he WANTS US to be in a LOVING relationship with him. He DESIRES us. Which brings me to the last point.

Significance. I was reading in 1 Samuel tonight, I read these words that God seemed to speak to me, affirming something he's been trying to get across to me for a while now.

"Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the LORD your God, secure in his treasure pouch." (1 Samuel 25:29)

See that at the end? Treasure pouch. Tell me: what does one put in a treasure pouch? Their treasure. Their valuables. The things they love above all things. If, metaphorically speaking, that's where God holds us, then holy guacamole, we are significant, aren't we? To think that not only are we loved, but we're treasured by God is something that makes me want to cry! When we think of the love God has for us, I think sometimes, because of the overuse of the word 'love' in our culture, we don't really grasp it. But using words like 'treasured' puts all that weight back in, doesn't it?

I have been struggling with the deal of my significance. Christians everywhere go around talking about how they're 'just a sinner saved' or how they're 'the wretch the song Amazing Grace talks about,' but You and I are SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

John Eldredge says that (paraphrased) "To God, the idea of being separated from us for eternity was too much to bear. So, when faced with his holy decision, he found it would be LESS PAINFUL to give his son - to kill himself, in the flesh - than to be apart from us." Wow. Have you ever realized just how special and significant you are? God has created the beauty, the ability to become intimate with it and God, and he's given salvation... all for you? Not a collective you, but YOU as an individual. YOU as in [insert name here.] YOU as YOU were created to be. You are no accident. Once you've given your heart to the Lord, you are no longer a wretch, and you are no longer a slave to sin. 'You are GOLDEN,' as songwriter Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) says. How awesome is that!?

So, as I write this extremely long blog post, I hope you find encouragement and truth in these words I've written in the past half hour. I know that these things God has taught me are extraordinary things the Enemy would just love to destroy and snatch away whenever he can get his grubby little hands on it, but I am going to fight for these truths. It's when we're discovering significant things and drawing ever closer to God that Satan tries his hardest to pull us back away. Don't let him have you! Show him who's boss; show him who's team you're fighting for. It's team that will not lose. ;)

Thanks for reading! And hey - if you were encouraged at all by this blog post, let me know in the comments, please. It would be a major encouragement to me, myself, and I get to see what you guys think of the blogging here.

Have a great night!

Jesus Christ Loves Hitler

I was talking with some friends the other night about 'the fairness of God.' The question someone asked was 'You see it all throughout the Old Testament - someone making God angry, and He strikes them down. Then, you see people like terrorists, rapists, child molesters, and they walk around without justice brought to them. Why is that?' That's not a quote, but the general idea is the same.

Perry Noble said once about the same subject, "Don't even talk to God about 'fair.' 'Fair' is you being struck down and sent to hell for the FIRST sin you ever commit. 'Fair' is punishment for EVERY wrong thing you've EVER done. Don't even talk to God about fair." Okay. So... that wasn't exactly a quote, either, but run with me on this.

So, I was thinking a lot about this - 'Why is that?'

The answer was simple - 'Because he loves us, and has mercy.'

Ever really think about the word 'mercy?' It's defined in the dictionary as...

Mercy - a disposition to be kind and forgiving.

Kind and forgiving. To even the worst of the worst? Of course, the bible tells us...

For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. ---James 2:10

So, sin is seen equally by God, but we're left with the question 'Why?' The answer came to me pretty subtly, but oh so powerfully. It's his love behind his mercy that makes it so incredible.

Take Adolf Hitler for example - one of the most hated, most abhorred, biggest villains of the history of the world. He was directly responsible for the murder of millions of people (God's chosen people, by biblical standards) and was directly responsible for the brainwashing of millions of well-meaning German people (many of the Christians). Why on earth wouldn't God have stricken him down right there?

Because of his mercy and love. Yes, even for someone like Adolf Hitler.

Think of it in this perspective. It's not that God didn't care the Hitler did all those horrible things - it's that God loved Hitler so much, he was willing to give him an entire lifetime to repent from his sin and truly follow Jesus. Did God approve of the things Hitler did - Does God approve of what the nasty people of the world do now? Of course not. But he loves us nonetheless.

God's mercy is not just saving sinners once we put our faith in him - it's giving sinners an entire lifetime as an opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life promised to us in Jesus Christ. Now THAT'S mercy! I know if I was all-powerful, I'd be too selfish to give some people (like Hitler) the chance to accept my offer of salvation - I know I'd be too selfish to send my own son to die for someone like Adolf Hitler. But, thankfully, our God is not selfish. He is loving, merciful, and sovereign.

So, remember that when you think 'That's not fair, God!' Because, really, when we say that, we're saying 'God, don't let your sacrifice cover some people.'

Thanks for reading!

-Matt