The expression how great translates potapen which meant originally 'of what country'.  It is as if the Father's love is so unearthly, so foreign to this world, that John wonders from what country it may come.  The word 'always implies astonishment'.  This love God has not only 'shown' us, but actually lavished on us.

I recently came across a new study published by World Harvest Mission (Sonship folks) entitled, The Gospel-Centered Life.  It is a nine-week small group study that answers the following questions, "What is the Gospel?" "What does the gospel do in us?"  "How does the gospel work through us?"  The authors do a superb job of answering these questions in a profound, yet concise, manner. Fans of the Sonship or Gospel Transformation will recognize similar themes and chapters in this study.  One of the things I appreciate about this study is that there is no prep work on the part of the participants.  The study, which generally take an hour to complete, are usually divided up into 4 areas: Bible conversation (studying a passage of Scripture to support the theme), Read and discuss and article about the theme, and apply the theme through an exercise.  I heartily recommend this study for both Christians (old and new) and non-Christians as a marvelous tool to help them come alive to the wonder, transformative power, and beauty of the gospel.

Today marks the release of Tim Keller's new book, Counterfeit Gods, where he exposes the error of making good things “ultimate”...and shows readers a new path toward a hope that lasts. In light of that, I thought it particularly interesting that I came across Psalm 115 because of its treatment of idolatry.  I was particularly taken by the imagery the psalmist uses to describe the lifelessness of idols and the life that those who make idols and those who worship them try to give to them.  The context of this imagery, which is found in verses 4-8, is giving God the glory he alone deserves because of His sovereign power and abiding love.  Yet instead of giving God the glory he so richly deserves, we steal it and give it to things that are far less deserving and satisfying.  The psalmist wants us to see the absurdity of such a practice and he does it quite convincingly.  He writes:

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.

They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.

They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.

Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

             

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brett eubank | pastor + church planter
grace hill community church
springfield, missouri
417.631.1048
www.gracehillchurch.org

Though elder brothers may be diligent in prayer, there is no wonder, awe, intimacy, or delight in their conversations with God.  Think of three kinds of people--a business associate you don't really like, a friend you enjoy doing things with, and someone you are in love with, and who is in love with you. Your conversations with the business associate will be quite goal oriented.  You won't be interested in chitchat.  With your friend you may open your heart about some of the problems you are having.  But with your lover you will sense a strong impulse to speak about what  is beautiful about him or her.  These three kinds of discourse are analogous to forms of prayer that have been called "petition," "confession," and "adoration."  The deeper the love relationship, the more the conversation heads towards the personal, and toward affirmation and praise.  Elder brothers may be disciplined in observing regular times of prayer, but their prayers are almost wholly taken up with a recitation of needs and petitions, not spontaneous, joyful praise.

Close contact with people involves an uncomfortable exposure of ourselves to them. It is much easier, in both fellowship and witness, to keep our distance. We are more likely to win the admiration of other people if we do. It is only at close quarters that idols are seen to have feet of clay. Are we willing to let people come close enough to us to find our what we are really like and to know us as we really are? True witness, born of friendship, requires a great degree of holiness in us as well as love. The nearer we get to people the harder it is to speak for Christ. Is not this the reason why the hardest people of all to whom to witness are members of our own family? They know us too well. 

But this sentiment isn't just limited to checkers. In fact this is often the prevailing mindset in my life. I want to be "kinged." I want to be able to move freely in any direction I please, even if that direction causes me harm. The Bible summarizes that very idea in an especially dark time in Israel's history during the period of the judges. The writer declares in Judges 21:25, "in those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." This is a doubly ironic statement, because God had always been their King, but because of their open rebellion against God, they had rejected him as king and in essence set themselves up as their own monarchy. This is captured in the idea that, "everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Each person was their own little kingdom in which they ruled and reigned as they saw fit. "Right" was defined my might and delight. If something feet good or made you happy, then there is nothing to keep you from experiencing it. God's message to the people then as much as it is to me now is to repent of my rebellion and trust in God as my King. We see that in Jesus' simple and strategic words in Mark 1:15 when he declared that "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

Like my pregnant wife who is due to deliver any day now, Jesus was saying that the time of God's redemptive history was now "nine months pregnant" and ready to deliver the seed that had been planted long ago in Genesis 3. The kingdom of God that Jesus came to inaugurate was aimed at nothing short than overthrowing our own individual kingdoms and bring us into the safety and love of his own kingdom. Yet, unlike earthly kingdoms, God overthrows our heart not by force but by the fullness of his love for us in Christ Jesus. As we see his great love, we repent of our self-love and our desire to be our own king and we believe and trust in his goodness and grace. He calls us to "king him" and to the degree we do so, the more joy and delight we will experience in him.

I'm also not alone in getting the dreaded disease bronchitis as my mother is an annual victim of it's gut/chest/whole body wrenching effect. In fact, I've begun to wonder if I've inherited her disposition towards bronchitis? Somehow in the passing on of her DNA to me, I got the gene that makes me susceptible to the bronchitis bug. Now I don't really believe that she did that, though I don't any proof to back it up one way or another because I tuned out of my 9th grade Life Sciences class where we likely we went over stuff like that. However, I do know that in getting our parent's DNA we do inherit things like hair color, eye color, personality, aptitudes and maybe a few other notable things. Most of the stuff my parents passed on to me I'm really happy about and some of the stuff that they didn't pass on to me I'm even more happy about - strong stomach being one of them (I have a 15 year vomit-free streak going right now!!). Of course there are some things that my parents passed on to me that I'd just as soon they not have, and try as I might, I can't undo those things. They are a part of who I am. This is true of all of us, but I'm speaking now on a more cosmic level here as my parents passed on to me something dreadful and unavoidable - the sinful nature they inherited from their parents, which they got from their parents, and so on all the way back to Adam and Eve, who were our first parents. It is the inescapable and intractable desire and bent towards being our own God, which they exercised in the paradise they were born into...the Garden of Eden. How miserable we all are because of their one act of disobedience in that Garden...relationships broken and severed, work that is more burdensome than joyful, illnesses that end in death...all of these things and more are true because of the sin we inherited from our first parents and now perpetuate on a daily basis. How sad! How tragic! How hopeless! ... Well, not quite.

God as gracious judge, made a cosmic promise to Adam and Eve that one of their offspring would do what they were unable to do, namely defeating once and for all the presence, power, and penalty of sin in their lives and the lives of their offspring who would place their hope and trust in Him. Of course there was a cost associated with this provision...a cost greater than any of us could fathom or stomach. For God to fulfill his promise to Adam and Eve and to us, it required the death of His Son. What love! What mercy! What grace! But God didn't let Jesus stay dead...He raised Him - and not because he loved him - but because the promise to us wasn't just about doing away with sin and our guilt but doing away with death and our shame...forever. The gospel of God's grace is the gift of real life...a life in which we flourish in every possible way...a life in which we perfectly delight in God. May God continue to stir up our wonder as we know the reality of God's grace in Christ more and more!