August 23rd, 2022
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
"DROP THAT BABY!"
A pastor visited a woman from his church family and found that she was very despondent and feeling that God had forsaken her. He saw that the woman was holding a baby in her arms and said to her, "Drop that baby on the floor." Startled by the suggestion, she looked at him in disbelief. "Well," he said, "how much money would you take drop it?"
Indignantly she replied, "Not for as many dollars as there are stars!"
He then said kindly, "Tell me, do you really think that you love your child more than the Lord does His?" That truth broke through the woman’s despair.
Do you sometimes feel like that woman? Do you wonder if God has forgotten you or no longer cares. Look to the cross of Calvary and see that God loves and cares for you so much that He sent His Son to die for your sins.
In Jesus dissertation about the Good Shepherd in John’s 10th chapter, he says in verses 27-29, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
Many guilt-ridden followers of Christ struggle with their security in the arms of Jesus. They know they have messed up and done things that are disappointing to their Savior. Such guilt can cause them to think that they have chased Jesus away and to believe that he has dropped them like a hot potato. The words of Jesus should bring assurance to you about God’s love and his desire to hang on to his followers. While we can be so foolish as to jump out of his arms, rejecting his ownership, he never drops us. He holds on to us tightly because he values his relationship with his lambs. He even seeks us out and pursues us when we run away.
The first verse and chorus of Frederick Martin Lehman and Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai’s great old hymn, The Love of God, puts it this way,
Paul tells us in Romans 8 that nothing, but nothing can separate us from the love of God. He includes the rhetorical question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” “No one” is the implied answer to his question. Know that if you are in Christ, you are living in victory. We still battle against the evil one, but because he holds us securely in his arms, we do not fight for victory. We fight from victory. No matter how hard you try, you will never fully understand your value to Jesus. He loves you more than you can know. Keep standing firm in his grace and there is no reason for doubt or depression. Just as you would never intentionally drop your child, He would never drop His. You are His forever.
This Sunday we will conclude our series of messages, The Good Shepherd and His Flock, Follow the Leader with a sermon titled Telling the Sheep Apart based on John 10:19-30. I look forward to sharing this message of encouragement with you.
Never to be dropped,
Jon
"DROP THAT BABY!"
A pastor visited a woman from his church family and found that she was very despondent and feeling that God had forsaken her. He saw that the woman was holding a baby in her arms and said to her, "Drop that baby on the floor." Startled by the suggestion, she looked at him in disbelief. "Well," he said, "how much money would you take drop it?"
Indignantly she replied, "Not for as many dollars as there are stars!"
He then said kindly, "Tell me, do you really think that you love your child more than the Lord does His?" That truth broke through the woman’s despair.
Do you sometimes feel like that woman? Do you wonder if God has forgotten you or no longer cares. Look to the cross of Calvary and see that God loves and cares for you so much that He sent His Son to die for your sins.
In Jesus dissertation about the Good Shepherd in John’s 10th chapter, he says in verses 27-29, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
Many guilt-ridden followers of Christ struggle with their security in the arms of Jesus. They know they have messed up and done things that are disappointing to their Savior. Such guilt can cause them to think that they have chased Jesus away and to believe that he has dropped them like a hot potato. The words of Jesus should bring assurance to you about God’s love and his desire to hang on to his followers. While we can be so foolish as to jump out of his arms, rejecting his ownership, he never drops us. He holds on to us tightly because he values his relationship with his lambs. He even seeks us out and pursues us when we run away.
The first verse and chorus of Frederick Martin Lehman and Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai’s great old hymn, The Love of God, puts it this way,
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell
The guilty pair bowed down with care
God gave His Son to win
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin
O love of God how rich and pure
How measureless and strong
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels song
Than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell
The guilty pair bowed down with care
God gave His Son to win
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin
O love of God how rich and pure
How measureless and strong
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels song
Paul tells us in Romans 8 that nothing, but nothing can separate us from the love of God. He includes the rhetorical question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” “No one” is the implied answer to his question. Know that if you are in Christ, you are living in victory. We still battle against the evil one, but because he holds us securely in his arms, we do not fight for victory. We fight from victory. No matter how hard you try, you will never fully understand your value to Jesus. He loves you more than you can know. Keep standing firm in his grace and there is no reason for doubt or depression. Just as you would never intentionally drop your child, He would never drop His. You are His forever.
This Sunday we will conclude our series of messages, The Good Shepherd and His Flock, Follow the Leader with a sermon titled Telling the Sheep Apart based on John 10:19-30. I look forward to sharing this message of encouragement with you.
Never to be dropped,
Jon
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