the Eastern slopes a golden coloring.I was in awe of God’s creation.
It’s been a hard week. My grandpa is in the hospital up in Canada and is not doing well. (Repeated heart attacks, pneumonia, etc.) One of my colleagues at work, my right hand man, just lost his dad last night. (And now, we are trying to reach him in New Mexico on a 65 mile backpacking trip. Not easy.)
Rolling through my head is an old hymn. Oh, how I wish we sang more hymns at church. Sorry, the cheesy choruses that have become common fodder in most churches just don’t have the same impact. (Oh, some do....but not many)
In 1883, Daniel Whittle wrote the hymn "I Know Whom I Have Believed" and those words have been running through my head for the past two days.
I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
This Christ. This Jesus. This God in the flesh. He came, unconditionally, to reconcile creation to him. What is grace? It’s unmerited favor. It is so beyond me to even think that he would make such love known to us.
But I know Whom I have believèd,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.
I can’t put God in a box. His mysteries show themselves in ways I can’t even begin to understand. I just recently finished Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis, someone had actually recommended Bell to me. I hadn’t read any of his stuff, but knew of him. Anyway, his comments in the book about the mysteries of the scripture were exquisite. Every time I open the Bible, even to a passage that I know by heart, I am often struck by something new. If I can be struck by something new, then the value of that passage, the truth of that passage, and my understanding of my own faith is increased. The Holy Spirit works! If we claim one interpretation of one piece of scripture, we have put God in a box. All I know is that by believing in Him, and taking all of the things He teaches me through his Spirit, I can humbly continue learning.
I know not how this saving faith
To me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His Word
Wrought peace within my heart.
Can you understand it? Can anyone?
I know not how the Spirit moves,
Convincing us of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word,
Creating faith in Him.
There is no recipe for the perfection of the movement of the Spirit. You can’t map it out. And each is convinced/convicted differently. All I can do is balance it against my experience and reason, and realize that those growth points, those movements, those revelations have made my faith what it is.
But I know Whom I have believèd,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.
No matter what happens, God is there. I can pray to him where I’m at. I am blessed to have a family that on both sides (mom and dad) had a strong relationship to God. As my Grandpa lays dying, with his family surrounding his bed, I feel the legacy across the family holding us together in unity.
I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.
Moses was blessed to see God’s backside. Or more importantly, see “where God had been”. I always say that we are blessed to be a blessing to others. If the only “God” that people see is through me, that’s almost enough. But, what about me? Selfishly, I want to see God in others as well…and learn, adore and be blessed by them.
I know not when my Lord may come,
At night or noonday fair,
Nor if I walk the vale with Him,
Or meet Him in the air.
Father God, may I live my life in a way that is pleasing to you. I praise you for your glory. I praise you for your teachings. I praise you for my family. May this legacy continue to my kids, and their kids, and their kids, and so on.
Amen.
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