Do you realize how much you matter to Jesus?
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by HisSon, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of Hisglory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…
– Hebrews 1.1-3
By the divine powers of the great God
the globe of the earth is suspended, and the circle of the great abyss set,
held up by God, by the mighty hand of the Omnipotent.
– Colum Cille, Altus Prosator, Irish, 6th century[1]
You matter to Jesus. His love for you is stong – stronger than perhaps you realize.
We rightly think of God’s love for us in terms of salvation. God loved the world – all the world – so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live, die, and rise again, in order to gain salvation for all who believe, and to reconcile the world to Himself.
Here is strong love indeed, which is able to overcome our blindness, hardness of heart, and complete antipathy to the things of God, to make us adopted children, heirs of Christ, and citizens of the Kingdom of light and love.
But the strong love of God goes far beyond the saving of our souls. God’s steadfast love reaches to every area of life, all the vast cosmos, every particle and power, creature and thing, molecule and galaxy. So greatly does God love the world that He continuously commands it to be, and to be in such a way as to bring us fullness of life.
Perhaps it’s not difficult for us to imagine the greatness and power of God, as we think about Him holding the vast cosmos together, keeping all its parts in place, and soaring above and through and in and over it all as the majestic Creator and sovereign Lord.
Perhaps we can easily imagine the Lord Jesus ruling in the mighty storm or keeping the raging seas in check by His powerful word.
We are used to thinking of the sovereign greatness of God on such grand, breath-taking, awesome scales.
But do we also think long and with gratitude and humility on the sovereign love of our God, Who by His magnificent power holds in place every electron in every atom and molecule of your body; Who fills your lungs with breath and moves the blood around in your veins and arteries; Who causes the synapses of your brain to fire and directs just the right amount of electricity throughout your body, so that your nerves function and your muscles work; Who brings the photons and particles of light into our eyes so that we see, and the waves of sound into our ears so that we hear; and friends and food and homes and clothes and work and every good and glorious thing we possess and use and enjoy?
Do we see the evidence of the strong love of God on every hand, at every moment, in every thing?
In His sovereignty at the Father’s right hand, Jesus is all-powerful – all-powerful. The measure of His love for you is precisely your continued existence into the next moment of time, for without Him, you would not be.
So great His power; so strong is His love!
You matter to Jesus – in whole and part.
Psalm 147.12-18 (St. Anne: “Our God, Our Help in Ages Past”)
O praise your God, Jerusalem, O Zion, praise the Lord!
He strengthens those who trust in Him with blessings from His Word.
Around us He has spread His peace; our borders are secure.
His bounty daily shall increase; His grace to us is sure!
His Word to earth runs to and fro to carry out His will;
He brings the rain, He sends the snow, and none can keep Him still
Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You give me love and light and life each day!
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T. M. Moore, Principal
[email protected]
All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
