The God Who Stoops

Debsue and I have been blessed with three little, precious girls.  They are not so little any more as they are 23, 22, and 19.  We even have married off one of them.  One of the memories I have is stooping down and looking them in the eye.  There are memories of then raising them up to my level and giving them big hugs and kisses.  If you are a father, you have that mental picture of your kids that never go away. 

The Psalmist in Psalm 113:5-6 describes the Lord as the “one enthroned on high who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth”.  The Lord brings himself down to our level in so many ways.  Jesus, Paul said did regard equality with God to be grasped but emptied himself taking on the form of a bond servant.  Jesus embodied a servant by removing his outer garment and washing the disciples feet.  The reason for the stooping is relationship with us.  Sometimes stooping is done to condescend.  This looks like “hey I’m a big shot, but I will bring myself down to your level”.  The Lord Jesus actually became a slave, died a slaves death, experienced what we experienced to “stoop” to our level.  This is hardly condescending.  This is grace. 

Believe in Hope

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.
[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

I am struck by this statement. Read it again. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. The first statement is that the hope that Abraham had was an impossible hope. God had said that he would be the father of many nations, yet here he was and old man and by human standards he and Sarah well past child bearing ages. It was the impossible dream. Yet, he believed in hope. Hope became a noun because hope is a person. When I say I believe in hope, I am saying I believe in a person. When hope is grounded in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, then hope not only becomes possible, it becomes guaranteed. So the hope Abraham had was based on a promise that God gave and his faith was based on the character of that person.

Am I prepared to fully believe in that which God promises me through Jesus - hope of a future in heaven beyond the grave, hope of a bodily resurrection, hope of grace in the present? Be careful however. Sometimes our hopes are not God's hopes. My hope may not be aligned with His plan. Is it contrary to God's written word? Does it encumber me? Is it sin? That hope is an impossible hope. Hope that is grounded in what the living God says is guaranteed. Bank on it!