Holy Week Tuesday: How He Loves

I put of videos by both David Crowder and John Mark McMillan.  I couldn't choose which version!  The opening lines of the song go like this:

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

A few weeks ago I talked about boasting - our boasting.  We are called to boast in nothing but Christ.  An old hymn says I will boast in nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness.  We do not need to boast, we do not need to prove our worth through what we can do or what we have.  We have a God who boasts in us.

I have noticed that in the world today, we have trouble doing things without an audience.  Giving or receiving a compliment, doing charity work.  We feel like we need someone to see it or hear to make it worthy of anything.  But in truth, we devalue what we are doing by doing it for attention and self-glory.  I am guilty of this.

God truly is jealous for us.  His affections for us truly are great.  He says, let me boast in you, I know your worth, you don't have to prove it.  Isaiah 49:16 says "See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."  God is proud of us.  And He owns the rights to that pride and all of the glory.   

Jesus showed us the perfect sincerity and humility.  Sometimes we strive so hard for those things - we aim to be the perfect Christian.  But there is not perfect Christian - only a perfect Christ.  God meets us right where we are at.  He loves us, and boasts in us for who we are every day.  

I once had a teacher in high school that tried to convince our class that every parent picks a favorite child.  He must not have been familiar with God's parenting style.  God has room on His hands for everyone's name.  He affections are truly that great.  God does not need to prove our worth to anyone, because He knows it.  He boasts in us because He loves us.

~SP