Sunday 24 July

Hosea 10:1-11:11

He is God, and not a man.  I for one am quite relieved about that.  I would have needlessly wasted quite a few Sunday morning lie-in opportunities if the verse had been the other way around.  But its interesting here that the evidence for Yahweh’s divine nature, or at least the implication of it, is that he chooses to arouse his compassion.  There is something divine about choosing to show mercy.  There is something extra special about choosing to act with love.  We are called to imitate God and that means a whole multitude of things.  But one of the calls of that verse is to look at people grotesquely consumed in sin and try to arouse within us a desire to show them love.  It’s refusing to give up on people even when they have failed and failed again.  Acting like God means conjuring up ideas for how to benefit people who have wounded us.  The ultimate proof of the divine was the cross.  God roused up a fair bit of compassion for that one.  He chose to offer us mercy.  The call of the church is to do the same for the world.

Romans 8:18-39

Like a half-tonne steak this one’s going to take some chewing.  We could gnaw on this one well beyond closing time and there’d still be a plate’s worth for the waiter.  How can we possibly digest the assertion that God will give us all things (v32).  This isn’t just about restoring us to wholeness.  It goes beyond living in complete purity.  It even extends beyond deep and enriching relationship with God.  We now venture into the territory of physical inheritance.  We will reclaim our role as masters of Eden, but we will surpass Adam’s task of naming the animals and stewarding them.  Now we will rule them.  And not just them but the whole cosmos as well.  Everything is eagerly expecting that day.  Creation is groaning for our leadership and our co-reigning with Christ.  That is what we were saved for.  Not to keep the chairs warm at Elliott school or even to run ministries or give sermons or bring people to faith.  Those are essential staging posts on the way - utterly essential steps on our journey.  But the result of our faith, the final resting point of all who call on the name of Jesus is collaborative reigning over every animal, every rock, every waterfall, every piece of art and work of music and over every single other thing in the whole expanse of this creation.  The most important, most significant and most eternal job role that could ever been imagined has been given to us.  And nothing could separate it from us.  That is the achievement of Jesus for us.  That is the extent of his grace.

Psalm 89:1-8

He is more awesome that all who surround him.