Give thanks indeed! The love of God is a magnificent gift as proclaimed by the writer of 2 Chronicles. But is not a static love but rather a dynamic love that really invites a response. To give thanks is a valid response but God’s real intent is that we would receive His love through the presence of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Body of Christ at work in the world.
It occurs to me as I write this from Camp Meeting at Lake Lanier amongst singing, preaching, teaching, and fellowship that it would be an awful mistake to know about God’s love but never learn how to accept it. That’s right, accepting God’s love to the extent that God desires is a learned behavior and requires our response.
God’s love is both proclaimed and tendered in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But we are only bystanders to the real benefit of that love is we just acknowledge this fact. By making Jesus both Christ AND Lord we open the door for the Holy Spirit to deliver “every good and perfect thing” into our lives, families, and circumstances. The biggest obstacle? That would be busyness!
In the name of Jesus Christ feel free to stop doing long enough to BE. Be available to stop and behold the beauty of God at work. Be open to allow God to pour grace, redemption, hope and forgiveness into your soul and spirit. And finally, be willing to let the love of God transform you and lift you up, be a lover of God in the present tense rather than rely on a faint memory of what once was.
Psalm 136 reveals the right kind of response when 26 times the writer stops to proclaim that God’s love endures forever and that he is personally experiencing the benefit thereof and enjoying immensely what it means to learn to accept that love. Lord, let it be so for you and me! Amen.
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