Old Testament God of Love

This week I’ve been reading 1, 2, 3 John and Jude. I try to read each book thru in every version of the Bible that I have because some versions say things in a manner that really touches a cord. I John 2:28, 29 in the New American Standard version was such a text: “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you knew that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.” (Righteousness means right doing.)

As I read this text it immediately took me back to Genesis 3:8-13: “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, ad the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Every time I read the story of the Fall I am totally amazed at God’s grace. He knew that Adam and Eve had sinned. They chose to disbelieve God when He said not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil because it would be the cause of their death. Instead they chose to believe satan, disguised as a serpent. God could have zapped them right then, or just totally ignored them and left them to their own devices. But instead, He came to the garden, just like He always did because He wanted to spend time with them.

Why does He care? Why does He want to spend time with people who would rather believe a murderer, because that is what satan is. According to Jesus in John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Pretty strong language, and yet most of us choose to believe satan instead of God. (I don’t capitalize the name “satan” because I don’t believe he deserves that much respect).

So here comes God, walking in the garden, wanting to meet with His friends, and instead of running to meet Him they run and hide. And He calls out to them, inviting them to come to meet Him. “Where are you?” That is the same thing He calls out to you and me: “Where are you?” He is at the meeting place, He is ready and waiting to have communion, but where are you, where am I?

And Adam says to the God who formed in from the dust, and breathed into his nostrils the breathe of life; the God who gave him the perfect world to live in; who created his perfect wife; who gave him all things, “I was afraid . . . so I hid myself.” The longer I live the less time I want to spend hiding from God. He came down to earth to search for me. He lived a life of sinless perfection so that His perfect life could cover my imperfect life; He died on the tree, crushed by the guilt of my sins, so that I may be guiltless in His sight; He rose from the dead and now intercedes for me in heaven so that I may have the assurance of eternal life. I don’t want anything to separate me from His great love. Romans 8:31-39: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What an amazing statement. Nothing can separate me from God except my own choice to believe satan and disbelieve God. Just as Adam and Eve’s sin made them feel guilty so that they couldn’t face God, that is what happens when we choose to sin. But God still comes to us and still invites us to come to Him. I believe that the whole course of human history would have been changed had Adam waited for God and run to Him and said, “I have sinned, please forgive me.” The same God who today says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9) would have forgiven Adam’s sin. Adam didn’t have to hide, he just had to trust that his friend and Creator would rescue him.

1 John 2:28 is talking about His second coming, when He comes in the clouds with glory and all the angels with Him. Only this time, those who have chosen to believe satan won’t be hiding in the trees, they’ll be trying to hide beneath the rocks. Revelation 6:12-17 paints a vivid picture of that day and the attitude of those who have refused to come to their friend for forgiveness and cleansing. “I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

One of my favorite promises is John 6:16 where Jesus said: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” There is no way Jesus will cast out anyone who comes to Him. After all, He came to Adam in the garden; He left heaven and came to earth the first time; and He will come again the second time because He promised and He has been preparing mansions for us so that we can live with Him for eternity. John 14:1-3: "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to that heavenly home. I certainly don’t want my mansion to be empty. I’m tired of this old world; I’m tired of living in a world controlled by satan; I tired of the evil, sickness, death and all the ways satan finds to torment us body and soul. I’m ready for it to all be over. Every day my prayer is that God will come abide in my heart so that I may be ready to meet Him.

I hope that is your prayer also. Because we have hope that this world is not the end and there is a better world waiting for us. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

# posted by Judy Mackie @ 8:17 PM