Around the Horn, April 17th, 2008
Give thanks to God, for He is good!
And it’s not just a mediocre, sometimes-there, tiny stream of goodness. No, as a Christian, I’ve got a future that’s full of God’s abundant, overflowing goodness. Each day, for the next week, and year, and decade, I will experience God’s goodness. Will I experience hardship? Yes. Will I endure painful trials. Without a doubt. But all of these experiences will be sweetened by the goodness of God. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know it will be good.
I’ve been reading through all instances of when God has shown mercy in the bible and all instances of the word “steadfast love”. Stephen writes a really great testimony to how great and good our God is. In fact, scripture tells us that God “abounds in steadfast love” and he is “slow to anger”. Throughout scripture we also see how great God sustains his people and shows goodness. (Once I finish my studies, it will be my first series of articles on this site explaining the different aspects of the mercy of God.)
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever
Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
-Psalm 118:1-4
Before we jump in, I would like to stress that Genesis was not written as a scientific textbook. Rather, it is a theological narrative written to reveal the God of creation, which means it emphasizes God, not creation. As one example, Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
The topic of creationism is such an intriguing topic to me. It always emphasizes how great and how “large and in cotrol” our God is. I think how we view the creation of the world, definitely effects how we view the sovereignty of God. I really like how Pastor Mark writes this article to explain the views of creationism, but emphasizes that, regardless, our God is THE creator. No way do I believe in chance.
The book of Proverbs is a wonderful, intensely practical guide that contains much wisdom you can impart to your children as you train them in godly living.
I’m not a parent, nor am I even married yet. =) But I will always take the wisdom of proverbs in my heart. Not just for parenting, but for all aspects of Christian living.
