Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Lamentations 3. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- People have always wondered about God – His goodness, His justness, His power and control, the purpose of our life in this world, and how God really feels about us. The problem is the ambiguous witness that nature gives to the nature and character of God. Sometimes nature appears good and benevolent; sometimes nature seems harsh and punitive.
- This problem is not the fault of God – although He created the goodness and imposed the curse upon nature because of mankind’s sin. The cause of the ambiguity is the sin of mankind – which God punishes with natural disasters and difficulties, and ultimately physical death. And our text speaks of the problems that we encounter as a result of human sin being in the world – those who strike on the cheek and inundate us with their insults. Not much has changed from Jeremiah’s day to our own.
- Jeremiah wrote the words of our text some 2,600 years ago – and reveals a keen insight into the nature of God and His love for us. He expresses his knowledge of God and his faith and trust in God – the faith to which God has constantly called all human beings, including us.
- We reflect upon “THE NATURE OF GOD’S LOVE” as we consider our text. But it is certain that we will not come to the right conclusions about God and His character by trying to discern it from the ambiguities of our experiences with nature. We rather need to Word of God to inform us as to His true nature and love for us.
- And we need faith and trust in His Word to truly know Him; and if we know Him first through His Word we will be better able to discern what He is doing in the natural world in which we live this earthly life. So let us consider that:
I. God’s Steadfast Love And Mercy Never Ceases – They Are New Every Morning, And God Is Always Faithful In His Love For Us
Text: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
Statement: This is a ground and foundation for our knowledge of God, one which must first be believed before we consider what happens in nature or what crimes we must endure from other human beings. If we start with nature – the difficulty of earning our daily bread, the dangers from wild beasts and plants, dangerous weather and natural disasters, and the evil we suffer from other human beings – we will never come to truly know God as He is – utterly faithful in steadfast love and mercy.
Application: So we have a very basic decision to make in how we are going to “know” God – whether by experience and human reason, or by paying attention to His self-revelation in Holy Scripture, the Word of God. And how we start out will dictate and determine the conclusions that we arrive at. And our conclusions are quite important – for it is a matter of knowing God as He truly is, and as Jesus asserted: “This is eternal life, that they know You the only True God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent.” [Jn. 17:3]
Transition: But if we are willing to know God as He truly is, and “THE NATURE OF HIS LOVE” for us, then we will be blessed to know that:
II. Even When We Have No Other Portion, Have Lost All, God Is Our Portion
Text: “The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him.”
A. He Richly Blesses Those Who Put Faith In Him – Who Wait For Him, Who Seek Him, And Who Wait Patiently For His Salvation
Text: “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”
B. For God Assures Us That Even Suffering Brings Blessings And Good To Those Who Have Faith In Him
Text: “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust – there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.”
Statement: Jeremiah spoke these words by faith – but he also had some experience of these very things, for Jeremiah, even though he was a great and faithful prophet of God, often suffered rejection and persecution. So he learned first of God’s love through His Word and held onto it by faith, and then he eventually understood and grasped God’s love even in his difficult experiences. When he had lost virtually everything he knew that God remained his “portion,” his inheritance, and that nothing could change this and nothing could surpass such blessedness.
Application: This is the same faith and hope that we are invited to have – the knowledge of God’s love bestowed upon us through His Word, especially the Good Word about Jesus and the redemption of the world, so that we too can grow in ascertaining and apprehending God’s love in all of our experiences in this life, including the painful and sorrowful trials that we must endure. For we are certainly blessed and strengthened and made secure by knowing “THE NATURE OF GOD’S LOVE” for us! And so Jeremiah continues to teach us about God’s love for us, that His discipline – the pain that He brings into our lives – is also intended to bless us. For:
III. God’s Discipline Is Temporary And Unwilling On His Part – And He Will Ultimately Have Compassion On Us And Deliver Us
Text: “For the LORD will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.”
Statement: This is a wonderful comfort for us in times of trouble. It is assurance and guarantee that whatever trouble God allows into our lives is not intended to destroy us, but rather is out of love for us. Further, it is always temporary – He will have compassion because of the abundance of steadfast love that He has for us. God is not eager to discipline us – just as we loathe having to discipline our children or others under our authority! It grieves Him to discipline us just as we are grieved in having to discipline others.
Application: So we must remember this every time we have difficulties, trials, troubles, and burdens – that God has not abandoned us, nor will He allow us to be afflicted forever. Rather He will strengthen and sustain us in all circumstances, and will ultimately have compassion on us and deliver us! From these verses we see the reality of God’s character and “THE NATURE OF GOD’S LOVE” for us! And this is critical for our joy, happiness, and blessedness in this life! For the assurance of God’s love for us enables us to correctly understand and decipher our experiences in this life, many of which are difficult, painful, and depressing!
Conclusion: We also have our questions about God and His love for us, what His intentions are when we experience difficult and painful things. We have difficult feelings when we are suffering – whether such suffering comes from natural disasters or from the wickedness of human beings striking and insulting us! We wonder about God’s goodness and His love for us, and whether or not we have a good future.
Jeremiah invites us to know God as he did, to know God as He truly is, to know and believe “THE NATURE OF GOD’S LOVE” for us! There should be no question of this as we consider the Lord Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice on the cross for our forgiveness and salvation!
And when we have grasped “THE NATURE OF GOD’S LOVE” we are privileged to convey it to others around us – people who have the same questions, doubts, and concerns! This is God’s will that everyone come to know Him – and this is eternal life. May God grant us ever increasing knowledge of His love, and faith and trust in His love. Then He is our portion also – and there is no greater wealth or blessedness! Amen.
Votum: The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.