Steadfast Love
Pete’s son Chris who lives in Scotland has been spending some vacation time with his family in North Umbria on the coast of the North Sea. He was walking along the sand bars with his wife and two daughters Gabrielle and Isabella and young son Milo. The children were wading along the edge of a sand bar when the current from the in rushing tide almost knocked them into the icy cold water. Chris’ wife called the coast guard. He was determined to bring his children to safety so he waded toward them. The icy cold water felt like razor blades. His daughters asked him, “Dad, are we going to die?” Chris remembered stories of people who had died of hypothermia in the North Sea but he said, “of course we won’t die.” He called emergency services on his daughter’s cell phone. The operator said to go opposite the direction they were wading and to head toward a tree on a distant sand bar. This long route kept them in waist deep water as the tide rose. If they had stepped into deeper water they could have drowned in the icy North Sea. When they finally arrived at the tree, a dingy from the coast guard approached and took them to safety. Everyone had suffered hypothermia. Chris’ body temperature had been lowered to 34.8 degrees C and he took the longest time to recover.
Life is fragile. Handle it with care. Be thankful for every day that God has given us by his mercy and grace.
Steadfast is a word that we seldom hear. Most men don’t feel that God loves them. They succumb to a steady stream of negative influences that tear them down. They are bombarded by the hype that says the phrase “toxic masculinity” is redundant. Radical feminists ask, “what other kind of masculinity is there?” Most men are relegated to the status of casual Christians. They are under challenged in the church because many leaders in the church do not model what it means to walk as a disciplined follower of Christ.
Steadfast means to be securely attached and never fading, never changing, resolutely firm and unwavering amidst the storms of life. Steadfast is Firmly fixed in place, loyal, committed, steady, true, constant, trustworthy, relentless, unwavering, uncompromising….in a word, faithful. The scripture says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Joshua who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land was an example of steadfastness. Steadfast is most often used in scripture as an adjective for the love of God. “Save me for thy steadfast love and mercy.” Save is to rescue the perishing in time of desperation and need. 1 Chron 17:13 says, ..I will be his father, and he shall be my son; I will not take my steadfast love from him…. Psalm 5:7 says, “But I through the abundance of thy steadfast love will enter thy house, I will worship toward thy holy temple in the fear of thee. I will enter thy house through thy steadfast love and mercy.”
What you think about God will govern the everyday decisions in your life. Is he a God of loving kindness and tender mercy? Does he love you despite yourself? He’s not disappointed in us. Rather he has a hope and a promise to sustain us according to his steadfast love. He has given us his spirit, his word, and the fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ. He has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness.
The devil tells us that we are fallen sinners and that everyone is disappointed in us. When we listen to his lies, at a horizontal level, he reminds us that “in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.” We’re not strong enough, we’re not wise enough, we’re not rich enough…. We’re just not good enough. He reminds us that we’re not able to live a single day without sin.
Jesus knew what was in the heart of man…that we are but dust, that we’re fallen sinners in need of a Saviour. As Brother Lawrence said, “I’m not surprised when I sin, I’m surprised when I don’t.” Even though we’ve inherited our fallen nature from Adam, God doesn’t see us according to the world’s perspective. When he sees us, he sees the spirit of Christ in us. For he who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in. Him.
If I’m disappointed in myself and God’s not, then I’m denying my Father. David’s prayer of repentance in Psalm 51 is the perspective of a man after God’s own heart. Along the line we have to make peace with the reality of who we are and whose we are in Christ. To reconcile our hearts with God, we need to meet him at the foot of the cross. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus. There is no peace without the Prince of peace. Peace is the result of reconciliation. Reconciliation means to make of twain, one new man. We who were separated have been made one in Christ.
When God sees us he sees his righteousness in Christ. We’re not worthy in our sin nature. We’re worthy because of the price Jesus Christ paid on our behalf. Even though the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The gift of the spirit of life in Christ has made us worthy of his love and mercy.
The story of the prodigal son is the story of forgiveness…of the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father. Even though the prodigal had said, Dad, I wish you were dead. Give me my inheritance as if you had already died, the loving father gave him his inheritance. The son wasted away his father’s inheritance with “riotous living.” He sank so low that he did the unthinkable for a good Jewish son…he went to a pig farmer and lived among the pigs. To a Jew if you associated with pigs, you were numbered among the pigs. He “feign did fill his belly with the pods which the swine did eat.” Like a pig, he craved pig slop. Then he came to himself. This is the point of repentance. This is the inflection point, the change of direction. He remembered that he wasn’t a pig, he was his father’s son….
Thank God for men of God who reprove us with the word of God. When King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and ordered her husband Uriah’s murder, he was no longer a man after God’s own heart. Nathan told David the story of a terrible injustice in his kingdom. There was a poor man whose only possession was a little ewe lamb whom he loved like his own daughter. The little lamb played with his children, ate from his own table, and slept under his roof. His rich neighbor had many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. When a traveler came to the rich man’s house, instead of taking a sheep from his own flock, he stole his poor neighbor’s precious little ewe lamb. He slaughtered her and fed her to his guest. This story deeply touched David, a shepherd from his youth. David was outraged. He said, “the man who did this thing must die.” Then Nathan stick his finger in David’s chest and said, “You are the man.”
Thank God for godly men who correct us….who restore us to an upright position. David’s confession was, “blot out my transgressions according to thy steadfast love. Wash me from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Against thee and thee only have I sinned.” God will not forsake a broken and a contrite heart. Our sins are forgiven not because we deserve forgiveness. God loves us not because we deserve love. We’re forgiven and loved because this is the nature of God himself. For God is love and in him is no darkness at all.
When we sin, if we confess our missing of the mark, he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When we come to him with a heart of repentance, our loving Father doesn’t see our sin and iniquity. For if our heart condemns us God is greater than our heart and knowest hall things. When we confess our sins and then come boldly before the throne of grace, Our loving Heavenly Father says, “that’s my boy!”
I will rejoice and be glad for thy steadfast love, because thou hast seen my affliction, thou hast taken heed of my adversities… He has saved us, delivered us and redeemed us because of His steadfast love. (Psalm 31:7)
Because of the steadfast love wherewith he loved us,
May we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael