“Punishment is hell; GRACE is just a little spanking to get us back on track.”
–Rashard Barnes
Brokenness. That is when the Lord is revealed.
Weakness. That is when His power is made perfect.
Humbled hearts. That is when He works through His people.
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Today as I was driving home, I heard the song “Our God’s Alive,” by Andy Cherry on K Love. It occurred to me that two of the most played songs right now on K Love and Air 1 both have a similar message: GOD IS ALIVE!
(The other being “Like a Lion” by the Newsboys)
That realization hit me hard, in a good way. God is not dead. He is alive. He is living. Jesus is no longer in the tomb. He is in Heaven with God the Father, and the Holy Spirit has been sent to earth to dwell with us! HE IS ALIVE! What a beautiful thing!
Fast forward to this evening at Redeemer’s First Thursday service.
After a wonderful time hearing Rashard Barnes talk about brokenness, trials and hardships all for the glory of God, we entered into a time of worship.
These "trials" and the "persecution" Paul dealt with were acts of grace, not punishment. God strengthened Paul through these situations, just like he does with us.
We began singing a song that has recently become a favorite of mine. I’ve heard this song numerous times and know it so well that I could sing along without even glancing at the screen. Tonight, however, was different. Tonight, God broke me. I found myself weak. My heart was humbled.
“I know you gave the world your only Son for us
To know your name, to live within the Savior’s love
He took my place, knowing He’d be crucified
And you loved, you loved a people undeserving”
You willingly gave the world your Son – to know your name, and to live a life consumed by your love
Jesus took my place, as undeserving as I am.
But he didn’t take just my place, he took OUR place.
Every.
Single.
One of us.
We are all undeserving, but he LOVES us.
Now, the reason it hit me so hard seems pretty understandable. Those words are powerful. But I couldn’t even sing them.
I became completely overwhelmed by the love of Christ. My heart was broken.
It was broken for the people who have never heard the name of Jesus. NEVER.
It’s hard to believe, but there are people who have never heard His name.
Why? Shouldn’t they have been told? How do they not know the love of Jesus?
Because nobody has shared it with them.
There are almost 7,000 unreached people groups in the world. Over a billion, yes that’s right, a BILLION people who have never heard the Good News, the story of Jesus, the Word of God.
The thought of this made me weep. Literally weep.
As my tears hit the floor, I was appalled. I was disgusted. I was ashamed.
I DO know the name of Jesus. I DO know His story of love and grace.
Yet I take it for granted every day.
I know the name of Jesus, so why am I keeping that to myself?
The God I claim to serve is alive. Not only is He alive, but He yearns for me to be alive in Him. His heart aches for me. His Spirit groans on my behalf (Romans 8:26), He is madly in love with me. And tonight I realized I am one of the lucky, no, blessed ones who is aware of this love, of this grace, of this living God.
I am weak, I am selfish, I am greedy, I am prideful...
But that’s not what God sees.
Our God’s not dead, He’s surely alive!
