Revelation.
As I was walking through the wet grass to check my mail this cool, dreary evening, it hit me. The thing that Paul and the others have been preaching about for so many Sundays at Redeemer. The thing we've--well, they've, because I never sing, I'm playing my viola--been singing about every week. The thing that I've known all my life, but that I run away from again and again.
Everything else in this world will let me down. My family, my friends, my favorite TV shows or foods, sleeping, playing my viola--they will all fall short of giving me joy and/or comfort at some point in time. And when all else fails, there's only one thing that remains--one thing that is constant, unchanging. Only in God will I find peace, purpose, and love. (Consequently, insert "you/your" where it says "me/my" in the previous paragraph, and it works out that way as well.)
In Malachi 3:6, he said "For I am the LORD, I do not change." The writer of Hebrews stated that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." And you know that famous passage from 1 Corinthians 13, the one that they always read at weddings? Well of course it applies to people who have decided to get married, but first and foremost, it illustrates God's love for us, and the way that God's people should all love one another. We will all fall short of it, but God never will:
1 Cor. 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
This doesn't mean that life will magically be happy for me from now on. I will still have trials. But putting things in perspective always helps. Maybe I'll actually get a good sleep tonight.
Everything else in this world will let me down. My family, my friends, my favorite TV shows or foods, sleeping, playing my viola--they will all fall short of giving me joy and/or comfort at some point in time. And when all else fails, there's only one thing that remains--one thing that is constant, unchanging. Only in God will I find peace, purpose, and love. (Consequently, insert "you/your" where it says "me/my" in the previous paragraph, and it works out that way as well.)
In Malachi 3:6, he said "For I am the LORD, I do not change." The writer of Hebrews stated that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." And you know that famous passage from 1 Corinthians 13, the one that they always read at weddings? Well of course it applies to people who have decided to get married, but first and foremost, it illustrates God's love for us, and the way that God's people should all love one another. We will all fall short of it, but God never will:
1 Cor. 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
This doesn't mean that life will magically be happy for me from now on. I will still have trials. But putting things in perspective always helps. Maybe I'll actually get a good sleep tonight.