I wonder if we do a disservice to our non-Christian friends, if not to God himself, when we only "advertise" Him as the LOVING God... Jesus loves you! God is Love! "Well John 3:16 says..." Yes, yes God did love the world enough to send his Son... its a well-known verse. God DOES love his children... however, it is a holy love. He also has holy justice, holy mercy, holy wrath... do we see a common pattern? In Scripture a word will be repeated to emphasize its importance (ex: Christ would say "truly, truly I say to you..."). Not that something can be doubly-true, but we get the feeling Christ is really trying to get our attention... the Teacher is rapping their ruler on the desk. What if the word was used three times? Triplified! [my own word]
Change gears briefly with me, but I'll tie it all together later... How would you describe yourself in ONE WORD? Nice? Cute? Moody? Fickle? Which one attribute of God would you pick to describe Him? This is a great conversation starter with anyone who states belief in the God of the Bible. Almost without fail, most people will pick the word L.O.V.E. as the most important, relevant, and complete description of our Almighty Father. I humbly submit that we have unintentionally emasculated our deity! We want a blue-eyed, gray-haired, kindly old granddad-God to sit us on his knee. WHAT?! Did loving Gramps kill thousands of first-born children in Egypt on the night of the first Passover? Did sweet Mr. Rogers order the Israelites to execute every man, woman, child & even all the livestock during the destruction of the Amalekites? You will never hear THAT Bible story told in Sunday School [check it out: 1 Samuel 15]!!
Jehovah-Sabaoth is the fierce commander of the armies of God! Behold, the LION of the Tribe of Judah has triumphed! Lions aren't cuddly or particularly "lovey-dovey"... why do you think they have tall walls, moats and other barriers at the zoo?! Within the allegorical book "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe", a child asked if the fictional lion Aslan was "safe" because they wanted to pet him. Another character answered sagely, "Safe?!? No, he is not safe... but he is GOOD!"
So which one word would I use to describe "Our Lawgiver" (Isaiah 33:22), "Our Wall of Fire" (Zech 2:5) and "Our Purifier" (Malachi 3:3)? Which one attribute most fully depicts "Jehovah, Mighty in Battle" (Psalm 24:8), "The Captain of the Host of the Lord" (Joshua 5:14) and the "King of Glory" ( Psalm 24:10)? I am but a lowly servant of "The Rock of My Salvation" (2 Sam 22:47) and do not presume to have seen the face of "The Chiefest of Among Ten Thousand" (Song of Solomon 5:10). However, there are creatures whose sole purpose is to incessantly and without fail bestow praise & honor upon "The God of the Whole Earth" (Isaiah 54:5). These heavenly beings utter but one word, one embodiment of "The Sun of Righteousness" (Malachi 4:2)! Scripture reveals they repeat this singular description THREE times to place extreme emphasis (aka, "triplified")!
Do I have you on the edge of your seat? Shall we take a peek into the throne room of El Elyon (the Most High God)? As you approach the Throne of Grace what one word now springs to your tongue, indeed it pounds within your brain, slices through your body & forces you to lay prostrate and beg mercy before Jehovah-M'Kaddesh? This last name holds the key... can you guess what it is that Scripture and truly all of Creation cries out as being the very essence of our King of Kings?
Tell me what one word rises on the wings of the dawn... tell me who is this God of yours... tell me who is this King of Glory... go ahead, tell me!
No comments