Issue 1464 – Light and Dark – June 3, 2024
On a personal note, I just wanted to congratulate the “the cowboy church” members in Sherwood Park, Alberta. They celebrated their 20th anniversary on Friday. Kathy and I were blessed to participate in this work from the outset.
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After a conversation yesterday about reading and literature with a member of the local assembly we attend now, I downloaded and began trying to reread the epic sci-fi novel series “Dune.” I have tried several times and have yet to finish it.
I suspect that is because it feels like you need to know another language to wade through it. From the opening, there is a bombardment of made-up words, all likely making sense in the story but feeling overwhelming.
In the opening chapters, one of the prophets writes about it being impossible to understand the light without experiencing the dark.
There is profundity there, even though it is a work of fiction set in an imaginary world. When everything goes well, people can become very complacent and entitled.
How could we appreciate joy without knowing sorrow, life without death, wealth without poverty, relationships without loneliness, or health without sickness?
How could we understand and appreciate God’s love, grace, forgiveness and mercy without having been the recipients of it?
For us to truly appreciate God’s nature and the extent of His love, we need to experience what it is like to be on the other side of things.
Could we love Him and be grateful if there was no sin, sorrow and suffering? I suspect so, but I think we’d be more likely to simply accept the status quo and feel “entitled” to be treated that way.
Those who have been redeemed from darkness understand the difference God makes. It is true that even then, we might think more highly of ourselves than we ought, but when we are honest with ourselves, we understand the magnitude of His patience with us.
This is undoubtedly a speculative philosophical point of view, and it isn’t a hill I want to die on. Yet, at least in my mind, it has a certain ring of truth to it.
For those who have stumbled, been broken or lost, we can appreciate the words of the Psalmist.
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Psalm 36:5-9
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5
I hate my sin and the problems that it can cause, but I am so grateful that God has chosen to redeem me for His glory.
In the words of that old song.
Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
Give Him thanks and praise for what He has done (and will continue to do) for us.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)