Dear church,
This has been a difficult week for many of you. For others, it has been uplifting and exciting. I am thinking of a few specific examples I know of on both sides of the spectrum, but in general I know this is true, because every week is like this for our church family. We have an awesome God who has overcome the world, but the ongoing effects of our sin still weigh heavily on us at times. Sometimes our hardships are more prominent than others, but in all things we can be assured that God loves us and His grace is sufficient. He proves this in who He is and what He does.
One of the most beautiful scenes in all of Scripture is the baptism of Jesus. As Jesus comes up out of the water, the Spirit descends on Him life a dove, and the voice of the Father affirms the love of the Son (Luke 3:21-22). It’s a profound picture of the Triune God of the universe preparing in unison to bring about the salvation of humanity. I love this picture because of the hope it brings.
God is perfect by Himself. The Trinity proves that. He is perfectly loving, perfectly fulfilled, and perfectly complete in who He is. Yet, out of the overflow of His grace, He creates the universe and everything in it as an expression of His glory and an object of His love. That’s the only reasonable explanation for my existence and yours, that God loves us. It certainly cannot be that God needs something from us. He does not. He lacks nothing. So why do we exist? So He can shower His love upon us.
I know many of you are in difficult places. I know that circumstances seem overwhelming and that important pieces of your life seem uncertain. In the midst of that, I pray that the supremacy of the Triune God gives you hope and assurance. He does not need anything you can bring, but He does give you Himself as a gift. Therefore, you may know that He has created you as an act of grace. He has not made you to bring you harm, but to show you joy in Him. That does not mean everything will be easy or simple, but it does mean He is good.
I love you, but more importantly than that, the God who is Love loves you,
Pastor Adam
