LIVE BENEATH THE SMILE OF GOD
Read Time: 4 min 32 sec
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I want to stay in the habit of ‘glancing’ at my problems and ‘gazing’ at my Lord.”
Joni Eareckson Tada
THE GOOD STUFF
LIVE BENEATH THE SMILE OF GOD
by Jeremy Hendon | Director of Young Adults & Assimilation
A couple of years ago I would have read the title above and would have immediately begun to qualify it. Let me explain. I had just read through the Bible and saw throughout Scripture for the first time the weight of God’s holiness, justice, and wrath. Throughout most of my life, I had heard people emphasize God’s love and kindness. I felt jipped, and rightly so. There was so much of God’s character I had been missing in my understanding of who He is. In response, I shifted so far into a focus on the harsher aspects of God’s character, that my appreciation for Jesus’ heart toward his flock began to diminish.
The qualifications racing through my mind would have looked something like this: “Live beneath the smile of God? Sure, that would be true if I were doing the things that make God happy. God despises the proud. I just saw some pride flare-up in my relationship with my wife. God allows the one with pure hands and a clean heart to ascend his holy mountain. I feel as though I haven’t even begun to climb. God says to pray without ceasing. I pray maybe 1-2% of the time God has given me. Sure, God smiles at me when I am humble, when I am pursuing righteousness, and when I am in communion with Him, but most of the time Jesus is probably disappointed in me. When I would repent to the Lord I imagined his disapproving demeanor toward me, and I felt shameful for the countless ways I kept falling short. At best, He looks upon me with crossed arms, a slight grimace across his face.
Can you relate to this? Think of Jesus in the throne room right now. Imagine him thinking of you. What does he feel toward you? One of my professors (his name is Bob) one day helped me understand the full depth of justification. Because the holy, just, and wrathful Christ went to the cross with my sin and dealt with it permanently, that same majestic and all-powerful God now smiles over me. Want to know the best news? If you’re his child, the Lord cherishes you. He not only loves you, he likes you! Hebrews 12:2 tells us it was for the joy set before him he endured the cross. His joy is discovered when his flock benefits from his work on the cross because in that God is glorified! Take a second to let this soak in! When you come to the Lord to repent over your sin, Jesus is joyful! He is the great physician who is happy to treat his sick patient! Now, my knowledge of God’s holiness and wrath only makes me 10X more grateful for the love and kindness he chooses to pour out to me each day. I now live, like Bob told me to, beneath the smile of my loving and just God. I no longer qualify it. Will you choose to do the same? Will you live beneath the smile of God today?
PRAY FOR AFGHANISTAN
It is impossible for us to ignore what is happening in Afghanistan as the Taliban has reclaimed control over the country they lost two decades ago. Our hearts break for our brothers and sisters who have had loved ones murdered and taken from them because of their faith in Jesus. Afghan Christians face grave danger and it is essential for us to pray for them, for the people of Afghanistan, and to also pray for the Taliban.
Check out these articles to learn more and find ways to pray:
How Afghan Pastors Reflect on God's Sovereignty
How to Pray for Afghanistan - and the Taliban
STAFF PICKS
LISTEN
The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill
This is a podcast the has just recently come out by Christianity Today. It will be roughly 12 episodes and they are currently 7 episodes in. It is a journey through the birth, life, and death of a church in Seattle, Washington called Mars Hill.
It has been heartbreaking and maddening and confusing and sad. You might read these descriptions and think “Why would I want to listen to something that invites so many seemingly negative emotions?” Because, for me, it has also been humbling and convicting and caused me to ask hard questions about my own heart and the kind of church that we are becoming. And for those reasons, I would highly recommend listening through this.
A word of caution -- There is some language and mature topics covered throughout so it is probably not one you want to listen to with kids around. As you listen through it, ask yourself, “Where do I see myself in the Mars Hill story? How might I be participating and celebrating unhealthy culture within my church? How I can contribute to the kind of church Jesus desires?"
You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you listen to podcasts.
DJ Blatherwick | Worship Pastor