We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;
people tell of your wonderful deeds. You say, "I choose the appointed time;
it is I who judge with equity. As for me, I will declare this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob, who says, "I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up."
(Psalm 75:1, 2, 9, 10 NIV)
I have a hard time understanding psalms like this where Asaph or others are thankful for Gods wrath and judgement on the wicked. I am afraid of Gods wrath on other people. I trust in Christ for my redemption that in Christ we face no condemnation. But for the world, my friends and family who I am not sure know Christ I am afraid.
What if I get to heaven and they aren't there. What if I could have done more to help them remember and follow Christ? Will their lack of faith limit Gods glory. Will he have failed.
To help me understand I like what C.S. Lewis wrote in the Great Divorce:
A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.
C. S. Lewis
Darkness cannot limit light. That eternally light wind and Gods salvation and glory is not limited by those who choose death without God.
But if God truly loves every person does he fail when they reject him and his salvation?
No, but it hurts him greatly I think. Yet he already know who will choose him and who will reject him. Is he diminished by this rejection? No perhaps he is magnified even more for so great a love.
God perhaps I can't truly understand the need for your judgement and wrath. I have been blessed beyond measure. I have never wanted for anything. My family has overall been healthy and whole. I have not really faced the cruelty of others. I have not fully experienced the pain of sin, the hurt of others. I have felt the extreme pain of sins I commit and the harm to others even for sins that many in the world would consider minor.
God I trust you and your goodness and love and the necessity of your wrath and judgement. I trust your plan for the world and for people to come to know you.
Lord thank you for the blessed life I have. But I know you promise us suffering in life and for following your name and preaching it. I pray you would strengthen me to speak boldly and to face hardship and persecution with confidence and trust in you alone God. I pray that I would never turn away from you but I would come to know you and trust you more my whole life and into eternity.
Amen
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