Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. 2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. 3 He has put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord. 4 Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5 Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. 6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. 7 Then I said, "Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart." 9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know. 10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly.
There is a bargain that takes place at the center of the transaction that leads to salvation. The bargain involves what God offers to us and what we offer to Him.
Have you ever thought about it like that? He provides us EVERYTHING - what is of utmost beauty and value in the entirety of the universe - and we offer Him what is worthless - even LESS than worthless: all of our sin.
God gives His only begotten Son and we give Him our lying, cheating, stealing, idol-worship, hatefulness, ignorance, wickedness, vomit and putrefied sin.
No person could ever conceive of such a great ONE-sided deal, (which speaks directly of the Godliness of the whole process.) At once, The LORD provides the ultimate form and example of love, yet does not overlook the justice due. How wonderful, how grace-full is the love of God?
And yet, we look on and say, “I dunno… I’m not sure… I’m concerned about what I might have to give up.”
Really and truly, this is the primary concern of those who sit in their seat and refuse the grace of God Sunday after Sunday: What I might have to GIVE UP? God gives us His undying love and grace through the death of His Son, and we give Him our hatefulness, wickedness and spite – and our doubt…All the while wondering about the wisdom of making such a deal? What more could God offer? All we need to do is receive it to believe it. Remember what Jesus said? “Come and see!”
- Pastor Bill
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