I've been struck by two passages in Isaiah lately...
'"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. '
(Isa 43:25)
(Isa 43:25)
'"For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. '
(Isa 48:9-11)
(Isa 48:9-11)
It's so tempting to fall into thinking the good news of salvation and heaven is about us. We think it's about how we can get to heaven, be God's friends, his children by adoption. Which is true, but not the whole picture.
Suffering is thought of as many things by many people. The best of Bible readers will see that it refines us, and it tempers us. Makes us better. We realise how great God is, how small we are and become holier people. But again, this is not the whole picture.
These are means to an end; we are not the end? 'For my own sake' comes up twice in those passages, and more specifically 'For my name's sake' once. God will give His glory to no other. The end is His glory. Praise Him for his glorious acting in redemption!
1 comments:
we'll be there again in Romans 1v5 on Thursday.... grace, for God's sake...
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