Two Small Fish
Do you realize how special we are to God? He designed each of us in a unique fashion. As His creation, He signed each of us with His own hand. He developed us into usable vessels. He drew us away from the world. He called us forth to follow His lead. He caused us to move in the direction of His light. He extends our understanding. He made us into individuals who are profitable to Him. He put a lot of time and effort into creating us individually. There are no two snowflakes exactly alike and the same God who created each one of them created each one of us. There is no other exactly like you or me. We are special to God!
Do you have any idea how much God loves us? He loves each of us with a steadfast love. Nothing can shake His love for any of us. It is firmly in place, constant, and immovable. His love is generous. He desires to give each of us the best according to His riches in glory. His love is reliable, faithful, and sure. No one else can love you or me the way God does. He knows all of our deepest, darkest, and nastiest secrets; yet, His devotion is immeasurable toward us. There is nothing strong enough to break His love for us. He strengthens us through His love. He involves Himself in our lives because of His great love for us. He will never leave any of us alone nor will He forsake us in our darkest hour. His love goes beyond obligation to mercy, grace, and commitment. God loves us more than any of His other creations!
Do you perceive the extent of God’s love for us? His love for each of us is everlasting. It extends from the most distant past into the infinite future. It will not give out when we lean in real hard. His love will never cease, never fail, and never become void. There are no pauses, no time outs, and no glitches in God’s love for any of us. He never takes a coffee break. He never goes on hold. He never rests from His love for us. His love for us never changes. It is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God will never change His mind about His love for any of us. He will not cast any of us aside, He will not lose any of us, nor will He disown any of us. We are special to God and His love for us is everlasting. Jeremiah 31:3 -- I have loved you with an everlasting love, with loving kindness I have drawn you.
Do you realize that God loves each of us enough to correct us when we do wrong in His sight? The times when we feel that He has left us and all our best laid plans have failed, He is loving us the most. Just as a loving father punishes his son to keep him from things that could harm him, so our heavenly Father disciplines each of us. There are places He will not permit us to go and plans He will stop us from fulfilling to protect us from the consequences that we cannot foretell. He knows the effects of everything we desire to do and because of His great love for us He will keep us from those things which could destroy us.
There are many things we don’t understand, many
disappointments, heartaches, and loses we must suffer in this life. The One, who
told us that we could go to the Father and ask anything we want, did not receive
the answer He wanted in the garden. God loved His Son and knew what was best for
Him and for all of us. It must have been the most difficult answer that God ever
had to give, but He said no to Jesus that day so He could call each one of us
His child today. We need to remember that God loves His children and when He
comes down on us with some form of punishment He is treating you as His child. Hebrews 12:5-7
-- And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when
He rebukes you, because the Lord
disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son. Endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. (NIV).
Do we need proof of that love? God is holy, pure, and just. He hates sin. Therefore, He cannot allow sin into His presence Sin must be punished. So He devised a plan not to simply overlook sin or to cover it up, but to wash it away, to cleanse it from the hearts of man. Before the foundation of the earth, yes, even before the fall of man, God determined to send Jesus Christ, His Own Son into the world to redeem mankind.
Why did He go to such an extreme to sacrifice His Only Son for our sins? It was the only way to reconcile each of us to Himself. His love for us is so great that he willingly took the punishment for us. God desired to make it as simple as possible for us to come to him. All we have to do is believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
He will never leave any of us (Hebrew 13:5) He will send His Holy Spirit to dwell in us (John 14:16), to comfort, strengthen, and guide us. The Holy Spirit will give us the desire to learn about God’s ways. He will teach us His precepts (John 14:26). The He will enable us to be obedient (Philippians 2:13).The choice is ours.
