Some thoughts as we approach the Lord’s Day:
Firstly, I came across this today – a quotation from D. A. Carson, in A Call to Spiritual Reformation, p. 111-112:
“Lillian Guild tells an amusing story of an occasion when she and her husband were driving along and happened to notice a late-model Cadillac with its hood up, parked at the side of the road. Its driver appeared somewhat perplexed and agitated. Mrs. Guild and her husband pulled over to see if they could offer assistance. The stranded driver hastily and somewhat sheepishly explained that he had known when he left home that he was rather low on fuel, but he had been in a great hurry to get to an important business meeting so he had not taken time to fill up his tank. The Cadillac needed nothing more than refueling. The Guilds happened to have a spare gallon of fuel with them, so they emptied it into the thirsty Cadillac, and told the other driver of a service station a few miles down the road. Thanking them profusely, he sped off.
Twelve miles or so later, they saw the same car, hood up, stranded at the side of the road. The same driver, no less bemused than the first time, and even more agitated, was pathetically grateful when they pulled over again. You guessed it: he was in such a hurry for his business meeting that he had decided to skip the service station and press on in the dim hope that the gallon he had received would take him to his destination.
It is hard to believe anyone would be so stupid, until we remember that that is exactly how many of us go about the business of Christian living. We are so busy pressing on to the next item on the agenda that we choose not to pause for fuel. Sadly, Christian leaders may be among the worst offenders. Faced with constant and urgent demands, they find it easy to neglect their calling to the ministry of the Word and prayer because they are so busy. Indeed, they are tempted to invest all of their activity with transcendental significance, so that although their relative prayerlessness quietly gnaws away at the back of their awareness, the noise and pain can be swamped by the sheer importance of all the things they are busily doing.”
As I read this today, I couldn’t help but be reminded of “the means of grace” God has provided for us to supply our vital need of fuel and nourishment in the Christian life. Except I want to make this point – these means do not give us some kind of liquid fuel supply – some kind of substance called “grace”, but they give us the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The grace we receive is not a substance but Christ Himself. The means of grace give us Christ, encountered through prayer; Christ, through the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper; Christ encountered in His word proclaimed in the gathered assembly.
The more I read my Bible, the more I am convinced that the Christian life is meant to be lived out in community. The sanctification of the Christian is a community project. We need the fellowship and ministry of our fellow brothers and sisters. None of us can say to another, “I have no need of you!” Life in Christ is not meant to be carried out alone. That is why when for two full months we were unable to meet as a Church, something very precious was missing. I know we all felt the loss. While we did all we could to keep sermons coming and contact flowing, nothing could take the place of the gathered assembly. And that is because, nothing was ever meant to. It is never God’s intention that we live our lives in isolation from the Body. Gathering with God’s people in praise and worship on the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, is His design for each of us. It is something we are told to do “all the more” as we see the Day approaching (the Day of His coming) – Heb. 10:23-25.
Secondly, we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. To love Him with our minds includes our meditations about Him in all He has revealed to us in His word. As we contemplate the attributes of God, it leads to deep and profound thoughts of His perfections. There is endless joy to be found in God, certainly more than enough for all eternity. That is quite a thought in itself, isn’t it? None of us will be bored in His presence.
In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore. – Psalm 16:11
In each of His attributes, there are fathomless depths to enjoy and encounter. For instance, let’s consider God’s omnipresence. This is the doctrine that states that God is everywhere present. Many Scriptures affirm this. Here are just two:
Psalm 139
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
“‘Am I a God who is near,’ declares the Lord, ‘And not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:23-24
Along this line, I really enjoyed this quote, written yesterday by Josh Neimi, a friend of mine.
As we consider the perfections of God, we must recognize that God is not merely omnipresent (everywhere), but that He is ubiquitous (fully present everywhere). By way of example, if I were to lay down and spread out across my bed, you might say that I was “all over” my bed. However, my head would be in one area, my torso in another, and my feet somewhere else. God, on the other hand, does not exist in “parts,” nor is His presence limited by time and space. Therefore, all of God is everywhere; to be ubiquitous is to be fully present everywhere. This ought to be of great concern to the unbeliever, and great comfort to the believer.
Something to ponder deeply, yes?
Ok, one more…. A verse spoken to Israel and true for all His people:
The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. – Jeremiah 31: 3
Think about that for a moment and then reflect on this quote:
“The best proof that He will never cease to love us lies in that He never began.” – Geerhardus Vos
In one sense, this is incomprehensible to us – and yet we can comprehend it enough to find such deep comfort in its truth. Knowing His love is eternal, what joy it is to know nothing can separate us (His people) from this love. Here are familiar words from Romans 8:
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,
“FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, wrapping up, as we pursue the Lord through His means and as we meditate on God’s perfections and love for us, may each of us be strengthened in the joy of knowing Him.
P.S. I highly recommend the classic book “Knowing God” by J. I. Packer. Over the course of several decades now, it has proven to be a rich resource for meditation on God’s attributes.