As You Loved Us

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
John 15:12 (ESV)

Oh Lord, how heavy I find the weight of this statement! You do not ask for little––you ask for it all. To love as you have loved me, that is to lift a skyscraper. To pull down a mountain. To brush away an ocean.

For your love is sublime. Yes, Lord, you gave it all. How could I ever match your passion and sacrifice? How might I follow you to the cross? You gave it all, how could I manage the same?

But on the other hand, how could I offer anything less?

In honest view of your compassion, what could I ever keep back for myself? To hide away even a trinket, like a morsel of self-interest, seems utterly foolish in light of your bounty given at the cross. The blood of the God-man was spilled for sin. All the Universe’s riches poured into the deep wouldn’t compare to even the first ounce of heavenly blood spilled from your side. What could I keep in comparison to what I have already gained?

Help your servants give of their lives and love each other––as you loved us.

God’s Remarkable Response to David’s Sin

Psalm 38 finds David in a low place, brought low by his sin. Whereas in other Psalms he lays claim on his innocence and seeks deliverance, here he bemoans of his guilt.

There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation;

there is no health in my bones because of my sin. -Psalm 38:3

In this couplet, David suffers a strickenness in direct result of his sin. We find it throughout the Psalm.

For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness,

I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning.

But David’s desolate condition is not merely the result of sin: he suffers too from the hand of God.

I know this because verse 3 informs me of it. The lack of health and soundness in David’s body is given two causes. These are God’s indignation and David’s sin, and they are inextricable.

To think that God is so gracious to be ambivalent to our sin is to misunderstand God and to belittle the devastation of sin. It is also to misunderstand grace.

Sin is not a mere quirk or untimely hiccup, it is an offense against God.

Grace is not overlooking sin, but acknowledging it face on and atoning for it. Hearing the vulgar rebukes of his mockers, Jesus, pinned to the stake cried, “Father, forgive them! For they know not what they do.” Jesus embodies perfect grace.

And God would not be God if our sin did not stir within Him an indignation. He is the Holy One.

God cares too much about us to be the ambivalent friend. Indeed, God disciplines those he loves, that they might not suffer continually from their sin. David tangibly describes God’s discipline in verse 2:

For your arrows have sunk into me,

and your hand has come down on me.

The greatest reminder from this Psalm for me is that my sin affects God and rouses from Him a response. Here it is called indignation. Paul later calls it grief (Eph 4:30). It is remarkable that the Infinite, Perfect, and Immense Creator of the Universe could have such an affection for me that my minute comings and goings could sway Him–Him! That truth is indeed too marvelous to behold.

We could never comprehend the complexities of the emotions of God, nor the perfect means by which God mingles his love for his children with his hatred of sin. But as we grow nearer to his heart, the more wisely will we live and the more fully will we love. While my sin is forgiven and atoned for, it still stirs the heart of my Father. May I be sensitive to Him and desire deeply to please Him. God help me!

The Medicinal Psalms

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light. – Psalm 36:7-9

The love of God is so precious, more than we realize. This psalm makes it abundantly clear.

God’s love is like a rare gem among the rubble of life. Compared to all else it ought to be revered and cherished.

How I am so prone to diminish it! It is worth everything!… And yet I often get more excited about a group of men dressed in the color of my fancy delivering an oblong ball across a field. How wretched am I!

It is essential to continually return to a knowledge of the true greatness of the Lord. That is why reading the psalms can be so cleansing to the perspective. They remind us of the sublime glories of God, inviting us inside to“feast” and “drink” at the table of God.

To meditate on God’s goodness and drink of his delights, these are the ends for which we were made.

Samuel’s Burden to Pray

In an address to the people, Samuel, the part-priest, part-prophet, part-judge of Israel, says the following when the people urge Samuel to not stop interceding on their behalf:

“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.” – 1 Samuel 12:23

Oh Lord, may I realize the depths of my sin by neglecting to pray for those you have put around me! Samuel’s statement touches on an oft-neglected obligation: the command to pray.

It is common to hold prayer for others as beneficial, loving, and–unfortunately–entirely optional. We can forget that Jesus says things like “pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44), meaning, “like yes, actually do it.” Samuel feels deeply this burden of prayer, equating ceasing it with sinning against the Lord. I think, at best, I might view my neglected prayer as (maybe?) sinning against those I’m failing to pray for, but likely not against the Lord!

There are likely two reasons I see why we wouldn’t pray:

1. We don’t actually believe that prayer works.

For whatever reason, we haven’t taken to heart God’s command to pray. Perhaps we are discouraged about unanswered prayer in our past, perhaps we doubt God’s ability or desire to hear us, or perhaps we think that God’s sovereignty rules out His desire to work through our prayers. Whatever it is, we must wrestle through these doubts.

2. We don’t actually love the people for whom we are called to pray.

This is true for everyone. Due to our humanity, we will fall short of how we are to love. But, luckily, if we can realize this, our first step is confession and prayer to the Lord, who can impart a Godly compassion to us. Praise God that we are not left alone in our sin, but by His Spirit, God will continue to mold his children into the likeness of Jesus.

May we, full of faith in a God who hears prayer and love for the people around us, feel too Samuel’s burden to pray.

Samuel’s Front Row Seat to the Surprising Love of God

16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” 1 Samuel 9:16-17

The relationship between God and Israel is continually fascinating. I think we should pay special attention to when God acts in a surprising fashion. This is one of those moments.

This moment is fascinating because God is setting in motion a plan to fulfill the desires of Israel–the sinful desires of Israel. Israel desires a king. For protection, for war, for judgement, and also to simply be like all of the other nations around them. It is a vain desire. This desire did not come from God; indeed, in 8:7 God commands Samuel,

“Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.”

Israel rejects God! And now, God is not only allowing them to reject Him, He is seemingly helping them do so by instructing Samuel to anoint a king. This is like the father who gives money to his rebellious son who is running away from home: it seems senseless! It seems foolish! Perhaps even wrong!

But God is not senseless and God is not foolish. And, as always, God is right.

The love that provides for a rebellious son is the sort of God-love that is far more common to us than we realize. How often does God bless us, provide for us, give us intellectual capacity, physical ability, and we… use it against Him? Well… actually all the time. Like all of the times.

A day has not passed in my life in which I have not worked against God, strived against his purposes, or used his gifts to sin against Him. Every breath is a gift, and some turn to praise while others become bitterness or contempt or disparagement. And yet… God keeps on giving.

I think part of the reason that God enables us is because He can turn even our worst sins to (not only) good, but to His very purpose (Gen. 50:20). There is no darkness He cannot enlighten. There is no brokenness He cannot make whole. There is no smudge He cannot fix. There are no tears He cannot hold.

So God speaks personally to Samuel, He instructs Him to anoint a king (that is Saul), and He does all this even though it will not be good for Israel to do such a thing (cf. chapter 8) nor is it good within itself (they are rejecting God). So, why would God enable his chosen people to reject Him? Because God’s purpose is to redeem.

Through Saul (and more specifically through his successor David), God is forging a path for a king that will not oppress his people but who will bless them in the most excellent way. That King is Jesus.

Praise God that He works our sin into beauty, and praise God that He turns our disobedience into redeemed purpose.