Monday, August 1, 2011

Isaiah 30:18

"Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him."


Such an amazing truth is this, that the sovereign Creator and LORD of the universe should wait longingly to be gracious to the likes of us! Such astonishing condescension, that He Who spoke everything into existence should set His heart on mortal worms such as us, actually longing to reveal His compassion towards us. And especially astounding, considering our sinful attitudes and actions committed every day we live! How can the LORD of justice look upon us with favor...?


Because His righteous wrath was poured out upon His Son when "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him", (II Cor. 5:21). As we are viewed by the Father as being in the Son, He sees us in the Lord Jesus' perfect righteousness, in His flawless keeping of the perfect Law, in His complete satisfaction of the Law's requirement for acceptance by God into His holy presence: absolute sinlessness. That is the Father's perspective on His children, as viewed through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.


The blessing comes for the one who learns to walk in the light of such unconditional acceptance; the longing for God characterizes the life of those who practice their position... who take seriously the fact that they can never earn nor deserve His favor, and rejoice in His grace by (1) deeply longing for His presence, and (2) speaking to others who need the Lord Jesus' salvation.



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