Today we are reminded of the gospel message: God knows us, God loves us, and that love will remain.  Notice there isn’t the usual focus on our behavior that most gospel messages begin with.  That’s because behavior follows belief, and belief follows belonging.  This was the difference Jesus brought to the “gospel” of the OT.   Jesus’ message was “God knows you and God loves you” (you belong to Him).  Only then did He focus on the beliefs of the people, which then led to their behavior.  Beginning with behavior (“you must stop sinning”) puts the cart before the horse and leads to Phariseeism and a works-based righteousness.

Ps. 139 is the most beautiful and oft-quoted poem about God knowing us.  God knows us now, knew us before we were even born, and knows us completely.  This is a deep comfort for those who love Him, but for those afraid of a wrathful God, this promise is terrifying.  “He knows where I am no matter where I run,” sounds more like a horror plot than a promise if the one who knows is an enemy.  But quickly, Ps. 139 makes sure this is a message of hope, of a loving God seeking us to our benefit.

1 Cor. 13 is the most beautiful and oft-quoted poem about God loving us.  God loves us with a perfect love and we aspire to love like that as well.  And even here, this loving God knows us fully.

But finally, it is three things that will remain: faith, hope, and love.  Yet once God redeems this world, faith (trust in what we do not know) and hope (believing in something we do not know) will also cease, for we will finally know God as He knows us.  But love, the love God has for us, the love we have for God, and the love we have for each other, will remain.  So let’s live for that which lasts, love, rather than for the things of this world that don’t.

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