Remember that one kid in the
neighborhood who always broke all his toys?
You know the one, right? The one
whose birthday gift’s days were numbered.
That guy. The one your parents warned
you to never take any of your toys to his house. That guy.
The one that the floor of his room looked like a battle ground with so
much toy carnage. That guy. The one who walked through toy stores not
thinking about all the fun playing possibilities but thinking: “Ooooo, look at
all the breaking possibilities!” That
guy!
I think people often have a
mistaken view of God. That He’s up in
heaven looking down at us dreaming up ways to mess with us: “Ooooo, look at all
the breaking possibilities!” A God with
thunderbolts handy to zap humanity with: “Using My name in vain! That’s a thunderbolt for you, buddy! And you?
I see what you did over there.
Got a bolt with your name on it as well!
Oh, you too? I can throw these ALL
DAY!” A God after us not for our good
but for our destruction.
This mindset goes against what’s
written in Isaiah: 1 The
Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because
the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of
the Lord’s favor and
the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and
provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair. They
will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:1-3
(NIV)
Jesus, the image of the
invisible God (Colossians 1:15), the one who said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), came not to condemn you, destroy you, or ruin
you. The reason He came was actually the
opposite. #1 Jesus came to heal the damage that sin brings. Sin destroys God heals. What damage you ask?
·
Sin impoverishes…So He came to proclaim good news to the
poor!
·
Sin breaks hearts…So He came to bind up the brokenhearted!
·
Sin binds…So He came to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners!
·
Sin brings misery…So He came to comfort all who mourn!
#2 Jesus came to replace our
brokenness with wholeness:
·
Ashes replaced
by a crown of beauty!
·
Mourning
replaced by the oil of joy!
·
Despair replaced
by the garment of praise!
God IS after you! But not to harm you. He’s got plans to prosper you, plans to give
you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11)
So, quit trying to avoid
God. He’s got something good for you.
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