Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Territorial


You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.  You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.  But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.  Exodus 20:4-6

Funny story about my wife and me.  Early in the spring, we went to a new breakfast place.  As we sat down, I saw a young lady from work that I said hello to.  The lady responded saying, “Hi, Kent.”  Without hardly missing a beat, the young lady looks at my wife, and says, “Oh!  Hello!  We just worked together.”  My wife has this astounding look on her face as if to say, “What did I do?”  However, I know my wife.  It seems like there is some unwritten girl code about not to be too friendly to another woman’s husband, and my wife must have given a certain look to remind her of it.  I laughed as she continued to deny the charges that I in no way had levied against her.  However, I understood her.  There is no doubt how much she loves me.  The way she puts it is that she’s not jealous of anyone, but she may at times be a bit territorial.  I smile with adoration knowing this.

God’s jealousy is out of love.  Not fear.  We often see jealousy as a self-centered ‘I am insecure and you do not want to see me angry’ type of jealousy.  That is simply not true.  I was listening to my pastor’s sermon this weekend, and he brought up a great point about God’s jealous streak.  He loves us, but not like the ‘I’m leaving for work.  I love you, honey’ kind of way.  It’s better described as the ‘You are the air that I breathe and when we are apart I am dying inside’ kind of love.  Yes, this does seem extreme, but here’s the thing.  In talking about the love of Jesus Christ, Paul wrote, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.” (Ephesians 3:18-19a)  God’s jealousy takes on a different light here.  This Commandment that God gave to Moses was not a ‘bow down and worship’ Commandment.  It was a ‘my love for you and my people is so great, it should be cherished’ Commandment.  God could at any time send us into an uncontrollable tailspin for our sinful ways, but instead, He chooses to love us incredibly, mercifully, and unconditionally.  This is why our love for Him should be greatest because there is no doubt we are unworthy of it but yet, He gives it to us anyway.

Our relationship with God is a love story.  I was once told by a great pastor that the Bible is about how God lost a people, and through Jesus Christ, He wants us back.  It should be truly humbling to think that the God who created the earth, the God of awesome wonders, and the true Holy and Living God thinks so highly of you and me.  He loves us so that He gave His Son’s life for us.  So, let us embrace this love He has and all that comes with it.  How can you see God’s love even in His correction of your wrongful ways?  How can we appreciate His jealousy for what it is?  My prayer is that whether we are right or wrong, we lovingly appreciate that our God at times will be ‘territorial.’  Amen!

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