Dec 10 2021 Model of Gratefulness, Part Four
Psalm 103 says that the Lord “crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion”, or that He is one “who beautifies, dignifies and crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies.” Oh, I love that.
Listen to this: We are loved with a love that will never stop loving.
Have you ever cared for somebody and then lost that love feeling? And it became so difficult to have that kind of emotion and feeling for that person? Let me tell you something.
The love of God will never dry up.
The love of God will never go away.
I don’t care what you do. Even if you turn your back on him and walk away, he will never stop loving you. He may not like, in fact, he definitely won’t like certain things you do that are against how he wants us to live, but he will never stop loving you. That loving never stops; it never dries up. He keeps day by day, pouring down his mercy and his love on us.
There was a song years ago that I want to quote the first stanza of it.
“Oh Love that will not let me go
I rest my weary soul in thee
I give thee back the life I owe
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, full be”
A love that will not let me go. His love will never let you go. You can try to wiggle away from it, try to move away from his love, but you can’t get away from it!
Listen to what the song says, “I rest my weary soul.” Are you weary? Are you will filled with fear and anxiety? Get close to Jesus. Let him love on you. Let him hold you and encourage you and forgive you. Just be with him!
The underlying theme of this love is God’s grace. Grace is getting something I need but don’t deserve. I do not deserve God’s grace. It’s a gift we received, not something we work to get or earn.
In the Old Testament, there’s a guy named Mephibosheth. You may have never heard of him before but he is one of my favorites. In 2 Samuel 9, David is now the king. And the Scripture tells us that one day he begins wondering whether anyone in Saul’s family was still alive. Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a very special relationship with David. You can read more about it throughout 1 and 2 Samuel. But David had promised Jonathan that he would show kindness to the line of Saul. One of the servants told David that one of the sons of Jonathan was still alive. But he was a cripple. There’s a whole story behind how Mephibosheth became a cripple at a very young age, but because of his being outcast, and of the line of Saul, he had a very hard life, outcast from many people. But David, the great king, says I want that cripple to come to me. So when Mephibosheth comes in on his knees before King David, David responds with love and care. He doesn’t look down on him or belittle him for his state. But because of his promise to Jonathan, and because of grace, the king looks at him and says, “I want you to live from this day forward in my palace; you will always have a place to live here.” And he gave Mephibosheth great gifts, and the Scripture says from that point on, he ate at the king’s table.
You see, that’s what we can do. When we come to know Christ, we literally are brought into a relationship with a holy God. A holy God who can’t have anything or anyone who is less than perfect in his presence. I’m not perfect. When I receive Jesus Christ, His perfect life covers mine. So my entry into a holy God’s presence is the perfect life of Christ. No one gets into a relationship with a holy God. Apart from what Jesus Christ did on the cross, covering your sin and your life, giving you access to the Holy God.
I once read this poem entitled “Grace in a Barren Place”:
“I was that Mephibosheth
Crippled by my twisted pride and
hiding from you in a barren place
where You could not find me
where You would not give me what I deserved.
But somehow, You found me and
I don’t understand why but You
give me what I do not deserve.
You not only spared my desolate life but
You made it bountiful.
And here at Your table, at the king’s table
I will thank You, my King.”
– Julie Martin
And so the question is, do you understand, just a little bit, the depth of his love for you? The depth of his tender mercies and compassion for you? Getting something we certainly need, but don’t deserve?
I love this song:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all my sin.
Thank him with your lips, and thank him with your life. For his grace and his love that will never stop loving you.
You think about that.