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Certainty is a much needed—though rare—thing in our world. I’m not sure about who’s going to be in church this Sunday. I’m not sure what’s for supper this evening. I’m not even sure what I’m about to write in the next paragraph.
But there’s one thing I’m sure about, and that is my relationship with God. That one thing in my life is more solid and certain than the chair I’m sitting on, more real than the food I eat, and more permanent than my memory loss.
Some folks are mystified by such certainty. It seems like there’s a skeptic inside most of us who wants more proof than is reasonable.
For example, some husbands frequently wonder if their wives love them. Never mind that she says, “I love you” a couple dozen times a day, she cooks meals she knows he likes, she lovingly tends to the rearing of their children, and a million other proofs of love. Just one little thing happens—she looks at another man in a restaurant, trying to figure out if she went to high school with him or not—and he goes crazy, accusing her of not loving him. (And, of course, the same thing happens in reverse.)
It makes for a rough relationship. No trust. No certainty. No wonder some folks struggle to be certain of their relationship with God.
In a thousand ways, God has demonstrated God’s love for us. Every day, we enjoy countless blessings we have not earned and don’t deserve. Scripture says of such blessings, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father” (James 1:15).
Not only do we get many blessings we don’t deserve, God’s grace keeps us from getting the punishment we do deserve. When we ought to have been punished for our sins, God has repeatedly stepped in and given us grace and mercy instead.
The best evidence of God’s love is described in Romans 5:8, which says, “God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The perfect Son of God died in an agony of separation from His Father, for no sin of His own, but rather for our sins.
And here’s the kicker: He did this because He wanted to! John 13:1 puts it like this: “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the uttermost.” He loved us to the uttermost. And He still does. Do you believe it?
When loved ones are apart from each other for a while, they feel a bit empty inside, and need to spend time together rejuvenating their love for each other. It’s the same way with God.
Have you been apart from your Savior for a while? Maybe sometimes you struggle with this thing called certainty because you’re letting yourself get out of touch spiritually.
It’s tough to be certain at a distance. Certainty thrives on closeness, and lags with separation. What you need is not another proof of divine love, but just to spend more time basking in the ardor of God’s mercy and the warmth of God’s grace.
Go ahead. God's waiting for you.
Prayer: Loving God, Youare steadfast and certain. Draw me close to You, so I may bask in the ardor of Your mercy and the warmth of Your grace. Amen.
John Roberts
Pastor
First Baptist Church
Sterling, CO
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