Day 74: Fancy Love
Daniel 9:1-11:1
1 John 2:18-3:6
Psalm 121:1-8
Proverbs 28:27-28
Lots of really cool snippets from today's reading...
Speaking of Christmas: Daniel is visited by the angel Gabriel and Gabriel foretells Jesus "the Anointed One" coming. He foretells about His crucifixion and His little "flipping the world upside down" thing. NBD.
We are told that as Christians WE are anointed (by the Holy Spirit) and therefore we are continually growing and learning in our faith and understanding of God
God watches over us and He does not sleep! He is always, always looking out for us.
And also David says that God will keep you from all harm which feels like a lie, but really he's saying that we are always ultimately safe in Him. No matter what bad things may come our way (even a king murderously hunting us, in David's case) we can know that our eternity is secure and we will always be with God. What may seem like "harm" can't ultimately actually harm us.
Which reminds me of something Nabeel Qureshi said in his speech at my graduation from Biola (Day 36: Fulfill Your Ministry). He said, "You can go into enemy fire, you can go into lands riddled with ebola, you can go into sex trafficking trades and not worry if they will kill you because you have eternal life. 'He has already overcome the world, take heart.'"
But the thing I really want to narrow in on today is another little beautiful poetic bit in 1 John.
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"
1 John 3:1
YOU. GUYS. THIS.
Can't you feel the excitement and awe that John must feel? I mean, he's freaking out. "THAT IS WHAT WE ARE!"
Is there anything better to repeat over and over, to scream louder and louder, to whisper night and day, to tattoo on your arm, to paint on the front of your house, to write in the sky, to tell your neighbors, to tell the world: the Father loves GREATLY, He wants to be your FATHER.
I. am a child. of God.
That is what I am.
What a great love.
LAVISHED.
I mean was John literally a poet or what? This is fancy.
It's fancy, rightly so. God's love is fancy and it's nitty gritty. It's messy and it's clean. It's complicated and it's elementary. It's the thing that wants us and grabs ahold of us and adopts us and says "You, yes, you. You are my child."
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"
1 John 3:1
God's love changes us all.