Because Its Good to Remember

Psalms 103:8-12

  "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him: as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

 

  I have read these verses so many times they have in many ways become redundant. "Yes, I know, the Lord is gracious and compassionate. Hasn't he always been that way?"

  Yes, He has, and that is the beauty of God, the beauty of grace. God, in all His holiness and majesty is also gracious and compassionate. He loves His people He has created.

  It really is almost strange that God loves His creation. Especially when you consider how often we make idols to replace Him. In Isaiah 44, we read about these idols: idols that people have made for themselves. In Isaiah 44 they are carved from wood, the same wood their maker uses to warm himself and cook his meal.

  "From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, 'Save me; you are my god.' They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, 'Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over the coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a stick of wood? He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, 'Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?'" (Isaiah 44:17-20).
  We as humans are so ready to worship, so ready to bow down and grovel on the floor before things whether or not they are worthy of our worship.
  God created us and is worthy of our worship. For some reason, we would rather go worship other things. God, as a righteous God, could kill us as just punishment for our sins. And yet, He forgives us. He is slow to anger. He is gracious and compassionate. He is abounding in love. Why do we turn to idols? It should be our joy to love and obey God. So let's do that. Let's honor our God. If we are Christians, how can we afford to do any less then worship God with all our being. Let us never think of His loving compassion as being mundane.