| “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). |
| Yesterday we talked about the universe, and went over some of the numbers that demonstrate the size and complexity of it. It is indeed very impressive! But while the universe displays the power and glory of God, it does not tell us about His heart. In the same way we may see a beautiful painting, or a nice piece of furniture made by a good carpenter, yet neither of these tells us anything about the character of the person who made it. He or she may be very nice, but may also have a bad personality and character. I knew a man once who was very good with his hands, but no one wanted to work for him, because he was so difficult to be around. |
| But God has not only revealed His power and glory in creation; He has also shown us His heart by sending His Son into this world. “God is love” (1 John 4:8), and He has shown His love by giving His Son to die for us. When man disobeyed in the Garden of Eden, he brought sin with all its misery into this world, and spoiled his relationship with God. But God wanted a relationship with the man He had created, and by sending His Son into this world, He made a way for that relationship to be restored in a more wonderful way than before. Now we know the heart of God even better than if sin had never entered this world, for we know that God loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. If Adam and Eve had never sinned, we would be enjoying the Garden of Eden today. But now we know God as our Father, and look forward to spending an eternity in heaven! |
| Of course, the same book that tells us “God is love,” also tells us that “God is light,” and God did not have to give up part of His holiness in order to save us. No, God is perfectly satisfied with the work our Lord Jesus did on the cross, for in the three hours of darkness, He bore the judgment for sin that God’s holy nature demanded. Now God can come out and offer a free salvation to whoever will come and take it. |
| Again, it is impressive to see the wonders of God’s creation, but as our verse says, it is even more wonderful to know God. We may learn things about Him when we look at the universe, but we learn His heart when we think about Calvary’s cross. |
