Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Appreciating God

“O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.” Micah 6:3

December is the month where we remember the greatest gift ever given to mankind. It is the gift of God’s only begotten Son for the salvation of the world. For many, it would also be a month where we express our love and appreciation toward people we love and cherish. However, the irony is that very often, Jesus, who is the reason for this season, is not the focus of our celebration. This was the case in Micah 6:3, where God’s people became weary of God.

However, I want you to look at the amazing response of the Almighty God and His great love for His people. God replied “O My people!” Is it not remarkable that such language should be used by the eternal God? It is the voice of earnestness and an appeal of love. Love injured, but living, pleading, striving and entreating. Divine love yearns for the reconciliation of the rebel.

Once upon a time, there were two boys living with their father. The younger boy had an itch to go to the big city. He said to his father, “I’ve had it with these chickens and cows … Father, you are, in one word, obsolete. You don’t know how to live. What I’m asking for is my inheritance now so I can go to the big city and really live it up!” So the father relented and gave him his inheritance and off he went to the big city.

The people who came back from the big city taunted the man as he waited for his son to return, saying, “Hey mister, you must be pretty proud of your little blue-eyed boy. He’s always drunk and spends half his time in bed with some women … he’s really living it up!” But the man waited and waited. And one night he saw his son coming home. He could tell by the walk, the stride and swing of the arms (signs that only love would notice) that it was his son. The father immediately ran out and embraced him, and in that moment, as tears ran down his father’s cheeks, the boy heard him say, “You’re home; that’s all I want.”

This is the familiar story of the prodigal son—and it’s the story many of us have personally experienced. We think that God is here to kill our joy and rob away our fun without realizing that God is for us and He really loves us. This Christmas, let’s appreciate our heavenly Father for who He is. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2 Tim. 2:13). What a great God we serve!

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