We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
Psalms 48:9
What a wonderful thing to just think about the everlasting love of God. To meditate on the finite would leave us wanting, but to place our focus on that which is infinite – that is, who God is and what He has done – would leave us satisfied, and certainly full and overflowing, each and every time.
And, oh, what a greater thing still, to know that we can put our energies and our focus on His love anytime and anywhere… See, our praises and our worship are no longer bound by our location, for through Christ and His finished work, we have been made new creations. It’s important for us to know that we have been made new, for this implies that we have so much more going on for us, beyond just going to temples of wood and stone to celebrate the glory of God. No, we ourselves have been made temples of the Holy Spirit – and from one temple in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit has made it possible for countless temples to be established – all of us living, moving, and having our being in Christ, walking and breathing celebrations of His power and peace.
As members of the body of Christ, we can certainly lift our praises as individuals, or we can also come together and give homage to the glory and goodness of God in groups, as in fellowship. It is as it should be in temples made by human hands – we shouldn’t forget that while praises and atonement were certainly things that went on in the temple, there was also fellowship going on… and in fellowship, we also celebrate each other, reminding each other of God’s faithfulness and sovereignty. As Paul said to the Galatians, we bear each other’s burdens, and in so doing, we fulfill the law of Christ.
So it is a wonderful privilege we have in Christ – for us to be made temples of the Holy Spirit, that we can think of God’s steadfast love, anywhere and anytime. We can celebrate His love on our own, but we can also certainly remember and celebrate His love with our brothers and sisters in the faith.
I suppose it is important for me to remember this privilege in this day and time, considering how we are very volatile times. We do want Christ to come back and resolve all that needs to be resolved from an eternal point of view, but until then, we would do well to focus on what matters – God’s everlasting love that prevails over anything and everything in this finite world. It’s this love that serves as our Foundation – It’s His love, represented by Christ, who is the Rock on whom we stand – it’s His love that keeps us stable when the rest of the world would have us feeling as anxious as they are. It’s His peace that holds us together when the rest of this reality would tear us apart. It’s His power that would not only sustain us but allow us to thrive, even as the rest of this world would eat away from our bodies and minds.
Yes, friends, we would do very well in these times to think of God’s steadfast love. I am not saying that we drown out anything and everything else – but we look, first and foremost, unto Christ… and from the viewpoint, mindset, and perspective of our Lord and Savior, we can look at everything else in legitimate power and solid peace.
…and I don’t think it stops there – for the finished work of Christ is complete. See, it’s not just that God’s love restores us. Nor does God’s love just sustain us. Nor can we stay satisfied by merely saying that His love holds us together, although this in itself is already so amazing… No, as I mentioned earlier, in our thinking of His love, we think of Christ, and in Christ, first of all, we live.
There is no living apart from Christ. There is no life apart from Christ. Our bodies may function, but this isn’t necessarily life. We may strive to establish, maintain, and leave a legacy, but that isn’t all that there is to life. No, without really elaborating it, I would rather that we in the body of Christ would remember that it’s Christ HIMSELF who is the Life.
Not only are we sustained, friends… but in Christ, we move. We are given what we are given not only to continue existing, but also to move by way of celebration, and vice versa. We wouldn’t be satisfied with just standing, especially since Christ Himself provides a way by literally BEING the Way.
Finally, we are not only held together, but man… In Christ, we have our being. We as creation can certainly count on its Creator to provide us with definite reason and specific purpose – Christ, who is the Life, and who is also the Way, is also the Truth in this regard. Paul was certainly not lying when He mentioned that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. In Him we truly find all that we need, and we are able to discern this apart from what we want, or from what the world insists that we want.
My point in all this, friend, is that in the body of Christ, we have reason to give thanks to God, no matter where we stand in the spectrum of circumstance – when the going gets tough, we understand that as we think about His love, we are restored, sustained, and held together. And when we’re feeling tough, and ready to go, we understand that as we think about His love, we live, and move, and we have our being.
God’s love – that is, in Christ Jesus – is present for us, no matter what we are going through… and I could think of no better way of starting the weekend than by posting this reminder, for all of us, and actually, for myself.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Psalms 96:3-6
May God continue to minister to our hearts and minds as we continue down this month of June.
Give thanks to God, for He is good, and His love endures forever.
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