Thoughts from the long run

In his message last Sunday, our pastor urged us to look at the Christ on the cross that was pictured in the book of John. He wasn't urging us to contemplate the gore or the suffering of Chris,t although he had talked some about those things the previous week. Rather, we looked at the prophecies that John pointed out were fulfilled in the crucifixion of Christ. Maybe it is the English major in me, but I can't look at the ways that God has orchestrated all of history down to the smallest detail to work His great plan without weeping and laughing simultaneously.

But so what? It makes for good listening on a Sunday morning, but what does the fact that the God of the universe knew hundreds of years before it happened that He would be pierced by His chosen people? What does it matter that God made David a type of His Son? It matters to me, today. Because that same God is still writing the story of the world. We may know the ending of the story, but it is still playing out. My life is part of the whole, the bigger picture. The same God that caused the details of David's life to follow a plan that would point to Christ, is writing the content of my days. He can use my life to point to Him just like He has used countless others. He knows when the details of my life are more than I can carry on my own. He knows when to test me and when to give sweet rest. Like the life of Abraham, He is working in me to grow my faith. He loves me and like the master craftsman that He is, He is lovingly working for me. Nothing in my day today, tomorrow, or yesterday is outside His knowledge and control.

Considering Christ on the cross assures me that He can be trusted with all that I have and am. Nothing, not even the leaving of friends, the uncertainty of our times, or daily trials are more than He can handle. He is God: The Eternal Creator of the Universe, and He loves me and is in control of all that concerns me.