Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Nov 16/60

Contributor - Rev. Martin Kessler

Title - The Love of Our Lord

Topic -

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning." (Lamentations 3: 22, 23a)

"Behold, I make all things new." (Revelation 21:5)

What is your first thought when you wake up? Is it: My, that night was short; time to get up already! Or do you look at each day from a purely economic standpoint: Another day, another dollar. In any event, we tend to look at each new day as one which is potentially the same as all other days: "the same old stuff". We crave for excitement, ut we don't really expect it. And so life continues its monotonous course.

Such thinking, however widespread it may be, is certainly not based on the teaching of the Old Testament. For here we find exclamations such as: "This is the day which the Lord has made; rejoice in it!" Speaking of the joy of living, the Hebrews had it! For they firmly believed that God had not only created them, but also each day which He gave them; so they looked at each day as something new, fresh from the creative hand of God. And they viewed it as being filled with new opportunities in the service of God. They listened for God's voice: they looked to His hands to fulfill their needs; their help was in God, their Maker.

If we have lost this attitude toward the newness of each day, as it comes to us from God's hand, it is to our own harm. It is so easy to adopt ways of thinking which are essentially naturalistic. The sad result is that we look at life very much like the non-Christian. Somehow we have lost sight of the ever-new mercies of God. In our intellectual faith we may be quite orthodox, but in our actual down-to-earth view of life we are secularized to an alarming degree. For do we still really believe in the faithful mercies of God which He is eager to show us this very day? Do we possess a faith which is radical enough to believe that the grace of God is able to go far beyond man-made bounds? Are we foolish enough to expect God to work the seemingly impossible even today? Or, to state it confessionally, are we prepared to put our belief in God's sovereignty into practice this very day which God has given us?

If we began to take the newness of each day and its spiritual potentialities through Christ more seriously, our faith would grow; our tongue would no longer remain tied when we ought to speak a word for God; faultfinding would be transformed into the praise of God, and our prayers would melt away damaging criticisms.

Regardless of how many days God has already given us, He challenges us to get out of our "rut" and begin looking at each day as a fresh gift from His Fatherly hand. Let us look for His mercy, expecting Him to work great things. And let us begin translating our faith in God's sovereignty into terms of everyday life.

PRAYER

Everlasting and merciful God, who hast created time and who dost give us each day of our lives, make us more mindful of the wonder of Thy grace in Jesus Christ, that we may acknowledge Thee as our Sovereign God I in whom is our help. Through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, to whom, with Thee and the Holy Spirit, be all glory and power evermore. - Amen.

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