Tuesday Reflection – September 08, 2020 The Abundance of God’s Goodness and Mercy

Tuesday Reflection – September 08, 2020
The Abundance of God’s Goodness and Mercy

I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not hear the expressions or phrases: ‘If God was like us!’ and ‘Thank God that He doesn’t treat us as we deserve’. Today’s watchword is a reminder of those saying and may well reflect the origin of the thought. ‘You shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or corrupt deeds. Ezekiel 20: 44

In Ezekiel’s vision of chapter 20, God points out to the prophet, His case against Israel. God was not happy with the apostacy of Israel. They had turned away from God to idols, and they were constantly comparing themselves to other nations. As God’s people they knew that they should not worship any idols for God was a jealous God visiting the iniquities of the parents upon the children. Ex 20: 5. They knew that child sacrifices were hated by God. They knew that any act of sacrifice or indeed any act of worship to God from an unrepentant and sinful heart was despised by God yet they continued in their sinful state with their false hope in other gods. 

God’s response to this double standard by His people was promised judgment. They would face the harshness of God’s judgement and it would be executed right in front of the very nations they were seeking to be like. Note however that God’s judgement was not with the aim of destroying Israel, but in order that they might be restored to their covenant relationship with God. It was God’s intention to use this judgment on them to remind them who they were, to remind them of their special place in God’s heart, to turn them away from idolatry and back to God. That dear friends is the abundance of the goodness and mercy of God. 

Today God continues to reach out to us in similar ways, causing us to endure hardships, to undergo trials and tribulations, all with the aim of restoring us to Himself. The doctrinal text from Luke 6: 35 reminds us that God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Imagine then God favor to the righteous. If God was like us, He would punish us as we deserve, causing us to suffer for our sins and for those of our fore parents. Fortunately for us that is not God. In fact God does not want us to be lost and will do everything to save us, even when we do not deserve it. God declared in Eze 18: 20 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! God is willing to pardon and restore us if we are willing to accept our sinful state, repent of our failures, and seek his forgiveness. In this way He calls us to live according to the new covenant we have received through the blood of Christ. This, dear friends, is the abundance of the goodness and mercies of God. 

Bevon White