GREATER THAN

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love.

Lamentations 3:31-32

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Go back to those days when you learned math in school (hopefully that won’t stir too many nightmares for some of you).

We learned a lot of ways to view the world we live in by the numbers and one of those skills involved looking at the quantity of two things before comparing them one against the other.

If the quantities of both things were the same then we knew they were equal.

If the quantities were of unequal value, then one value would be greater and the other lesser when compared.

Or in other words, when you looked at both quantities, one would be greater than the other.

We revisit this concept in today’s devotion but instead of looking at quantifiable variables, we focus in on unquantifiable, spiritual ones, and in doing so, we find great hope in the comparison outcomes. Look again at today’s scripture verses from Lamentations 3:

For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love.  Lamentations 3:31-32

From these two verses, we find two very important “greater than” statements of truth:

1. God’s compassion is greater than His grief.

Yes, we are all sinners and yes, God will bring consequences and discipline on any sinner to try and teach them the wrongs of their ways, ushering them back to His righteousness. But His punishment will never exceed His compassion and mercy and grace and forgiveness. For they are greater than the suffering and sorrow He might bring our way.

Keep in mind the words of this classic hymn:

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

2. God’s love is unfailing and greater than His wrath.

Think about where we would be without God’s love. We would be destined for destruction and doom, for utter annihilation.

But what do the scriptures tell us?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Perhaps this is the best known verse in the Bible and thanks be to God it is because if people need to know anything about the God who is their Maker and Master, they need to know that He did not wish for them to suffer eternal perishing but rather wanted them to be able to live with Him forever.

How deep was His love?

So deep that He chose to give up His only Son, Jesus, to pay the price for the sins of all mankind, one final sacrifice that would produce atonement for anyone who would believe in Jesus as Savior.

If God’s wrath was greater, He would have just watched us all go down the road of obliteration but He was unwilling to do that because His love was greater than His judgment.

It’s a love that is perfect, abundant, and faithful. It’s a love that is steadfast, sure, and strong. It’s a love that does not wish for any of His beloved children to be cast off, rejected, or abandoned forever.

Rather, it’s a love that leads Him to want to be with us forever and friends, there is no greater gift we can be given in life than that.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com