Words

 "God's most terrifying words are, "I never knew you." Matthew 7:23, and His most comforting are, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Jeremiah 1:5 Larry Crabb

Jesus said that man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Every word, not just the ones we like or agree with. The above quote from Larry Crabb gives a very wide spectrum between words from Him that we find very comforting, and words that strike, or should strike terror in our hearts. He speaks both kinds.

Matthew 7:23 is referring to Jesus speaking to those who will stand before Him in judgement, thinking themselves secure in that they did all the "right things" as religious followers of Christ. They went to church, tithed, and sought to live good moral lives. They thought themselves justified by their keeping of a religious ritual, and told Him so. Yet, to them He said, "Depart from Me....I never knew you." I don't know that there can be any more chilling, shocking, and terrifying words that one could hear than those. A Lord you felt you'd recognized, even given some level of honor to, telling you that you had no place in Him, and that more, though you felt you knew Him, didn't know you at all. How could this be?

Maybe we can see the answer in something Leonard Ravenhill said about the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus' day. He wrote, "Pharisees read the Scriptures, tithed, went to church, and went to hell." Why? They rejected the claims of the Gospel Jesus brought to them. They rejected the claims of Christ. They had a religion, but they had no relationship. They did the right things but with the wrong heart. They thought that their doing all those things made them right with God, whereas Jesus told them He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The only Way, Truth, and Life. The Lord knows those who are His, and those who reject Him are not His. Scripture says that it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. There can be only one of two outcomes. This is an outcome that no soul should ever desire. These are hard and frightening words, but He did speak them, and speaks them still.

Then there are His Words that speak hope, comfort, and the deepest assurance of His love and intimacy. He says that even before we were physically formed in the womb of our mother, He knew us. He knew, and knows the deepest recesses of our mind and spirit. He knows what He created us for, and He knows how to bring to pass all His purposes for us....if we will have it. One of the great human needs is that of being known. The world specializes in dehumanizing and devaluing us. God intends that we should know that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. That in all of human life that has ever existed or will exist, there is no one who can connect with His heart like we can...if we will have it. I can't explain the total mystical nature of this truth, I can only testify from my experience with my God, through His Son, that it is true. Wonderfully, beautifully true.

This has not been an easy piece to write. I seek to present the Lord as He has revealed Himself. That means presenting Him as One who is ultimate mercy and love, as well as ultimate justice and wrath. His Word tells us that mercy triumphs over judgement, but His mercy must be received to be experienced. Dudley Hall said that, "It is dangerous and deadly not to receive the Word of God." The end of such a choice makes me tremble in His presence. At the same time, Jesus said that His Word is Life to all who would receive it. The knowledge of what that means makes my heart soar with His joy. Someone said that God has nothing left to give to the world as He has already given us His Son, His Spirit and His Word. As you read this, I pray that in every area of your life, you would receive them and not reject them. He is a Gift that is both too wonderful for words, and too terrible a consequence if He is turned away.

Blessings,

Pastor O