Reverence and Awe

If you've seen Mythbusters, you'd understand when I preface all of the following with a warning sign: WARNING, THEOLOGICAL CONTENT! Hopefully it doesn't get too heady. But then, you're reading Spurgeon each day so this is kindergarten stuff in comparison...

Today we're thinking about the obvious hypotheticals whose answers you and I forget on a daily basis. That's the very reason Jesus taught using these statements. Jesus illustrates the security believers are assured within the grip of the hand of God. The hypothetical question is posed, "Who could ever tear us apart from the hold of God?" (Granted, it's not presented in the form of a question.) The obvious hypothetical answer is, "No one and no thing because nothing is greater than God." It would take a God-sized (make that God-ordained) miracle to undo the God-performed work that sustains the security of his beloved. Such reversal of a will that precedes the foundation of the world could be considered irrational. Making sure that we do not slip into a sense of irrational fear of loss of salvation, God sealed his approval when he raised Christ from the dead and gave us his Holy Spirit. So Jesus teaches that no one can snatch us away and then shows how he knows that by dying on the cross. He also teaches that he and the Father are one. Then the Father says, "Yes, Jesus, your teaching is truth." And declares it by presenting an empty tomb on that early Resurrection Sunday morning.

The next obvious hypothetical is questioned by the psalmist as he considers the greatness of God versus the threat of man. If God is his light then should he fear any threat of the powers of darkness? No. However, is God his light? Spurgeon writes, "where there is not enough light to reveal our own darkness and to make us long for the Lord Jesus, there is no evidence of salvation." This is key. As much as we can point to the exterior darkness, if we are not the Lord's, then the darkness is just as pitch black within. The darkness inside must be chased by the light of Christ. At the point, David assures, the Lord is his salvation forever. If there is an attack from the enemy that questions his security, his simple answer is that the Lord is his strength and there is no one to fear. Then when we ask, "whom shall I fear?" We'll have our answer to our obvious hypothetical: no one but God alone.

Oh and this is also great news for us: the Lakers won the NBA Finals!