The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies never come to an end.
His mercies are new every morning.
For all this we say, great is His faithfulness.
Love, mercy, and faithfulness. It’s what we need at every moment. We need love in our daily dealings. We need mercy in all of our thoughts. And in all that we do, may we always be aware of His faithfulness.
And it’s only in Christ that we see all three. It’s only through Christ that we have all three. By Christ we are aware of God’s love towards us. It’s through Christ that we behold God’s love, and it’s also through our meditation of God’s love that we come to believe in and know Christ, as more and more of our being is integrated and assimilated to Him.
It’s through Christ’s death on the cross that we see the absolute mercy of God towards each and every one of us. For see, by sin we were separated, and it was but natural for us to die. Sin brought us to rejection, and rejection brought us to death, and all its manifestations. Sure, we see how Christ took all the physical pain and the mental anguish of the cross, but this is only on the surface – Christ was rejected by God and man, as is the case with sin; Christ BECAME sin, and was therefore rejected, and therefore died. We see God’s mercy by way of Christ not merely taking on but BECOMING our problem at the deepest level; Instead of us, it was Christ who took on all of the consequences that result from sin.
Finally, it’s through Christ’s resurrection that we behold just how faithful our God is. His faithfulness is one that is beyond physical life, one that surpasses sin and death.
It’s on God’s love, mercy, and faithfulness that I choose to meditate on right now. I could scream out in frustration, but it’s in the screaming, and in the frustration that I see God’s love from other perspectives. I could struggle with my breathing, looking into the distance, but it’s in this self-induced tension that I’m led to understand and appreciate God’s everlasting mercy. Finally, I could have trouble seeing my own faith, but it’s in these moments of faithlessness that I take in some substantial comfort, knowing that in these times it’s God who remains faithful to me.
I shouldn’t be surprised. This year has shown itself so far to be a year full of movement. I just didn’t realize that there’s so much more aspects to movement than moving forward, moving wider, and moving higher or lower. To think, I thought I covered enough of the negative when we discussed moving lower.
No, apparently, there’s movement around us that we have to consider. And I don’t think I’d be too incorrect if I’d say that this sort of movement is beyond control. I guess there’s much thought that should be given to the movements of others above us, around us, and below us, when we consider our own movements.
And see, there lies some of the frustration I feel at this moment, there lies the reason for my needing God’s love, mercy, and faithfulness. Because in spite of our own plans and desires to move, others who would assume they are above us would impose their own movements on us, insisting that we move along with them, without giving us even the tiniest trace of respect; No, they fail to take ownership by way of merely imposing movement without even asking for our own opinions, or even our own consent.
Indeed, for these instances, may the Lord overflow us with love. May we be reminded of how we are loved in spite of our arrogance, that we would express the same sort of love, that we would overflow divine love when we ourselves are arrogantly moved.
There lies more of the anxiety, in the movements of those around us. It appears as if some of the confrontation is too much to handle, with everything else going on. Recently I’ve seen how the movements of those around us, those whom we would be so fortunate to call our equals, or partners – I’ve seen how they would have us look a little deeper than we’d like into our own movements, or the consequences of our own movements, or in this particular case, lack thereof.
May our God remind us in these times – of His undying mercy. For all that’s happened around Christ, and all that’s trying to distract Him, all that’s trying to tear Him apart from the inside or around Him, He practiced nothing less than genuine compassion upon Himself and those around Him. It gets me to thinking, just how much God had mercy on His own Son, that He would overflow the same mercy upon us.
Indeed, may the Lord embrace us during these times of duress, these times of stress and reckless abandon – May He embrace us tightly, full of love, mercy, and His constant faithfulness.
If I’m being reminded of how God cares for us during these times, if I’m being reminded of what God does for us – I’m also reminded at this time of what we ought to do; and that is, to give thanks.
Starting with reciprocation: I’m thankful for God’s love for me, present even in times of lovelessness. I’m thankful for God’s mercy upon me, ministering to me especially in times when the world denies me of mercy. I’m thankful for God’s faithfulness towards me, present in my faithlessness. I’m thankful that I could look at love, mercy, and faithfulness beyond mere concepts or emotions, because God did not take any chances – He gave me Christ, His Son, the personification of His goodness.
I’m thankful for life in general, and for the ability to breathe; I’m thankful that I could close my eyes, and take a deep breath, knowing that I am not alone. Just as I’m thankful for the smallest light shining the brightest in the darkness, I am also thankful for hope that serves as my anchor in this malevolent turmoil. I’m thankful for the ability and the opportunity to give thanks to God, and I’m thankful that He listens – I’m even more thankful that He reads between the lines, and is willing AND able to finish the work He began in me.
And really, I could keep on going, but, well, I’ll just leave it at that for now.
Until the next post, God bless you.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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