Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Henry Blackaby
Nothing Else Matters
When people genuinely ask why I believe in a God that I cannot see, I tell them that we believe in things that we cannot see all the time. For example, we believe in gravity, although we can’t see it. We believe in love, but is it something tangible? No, so in the same way, we believe in God because you and I have faith in God, which is a conviction in things not seen (Heb. 11:1b). Even though we have faith in a God we cannot see, we have this assurance that He exists (Heb. 11:1a). Our relationship with God is the highest, most important relationship we will ever have in our lives. It is much more important than our family, our friends, our church brothers and sisters, and our co-workers because they can’t save us from our sin and they couldn’t die to save us. Some of these people will refuse to believe in Christ, and these relationships will end at Christ’s appearing, but our relationship with God will extend into all eternity (John 3:16). Nothing else matters compared to having a saving and loving relationship with God.
For God So Loves You!
We all know John 3:16 by heart, but think about this: Jesus asked for those who were nailing Him to the cross to be forgiven because they really didn’t know what they were doing (Luke 23:34). I wonder whether the Roman centurion would have had a way to be forgiven if Jesus had not asked the Father to forgive them for that since he finally believed (Luke 23:47). My wife says that childbirth and kidney stones are close to being the same in painful intensity. Now imagine Jesus hanging on the cross for six hours to prove His love for us, who are sinners. Isn’t that the greatest demonstration of love that’s ever been displayed? What other person would die such an excruciating death for those who didn’t deserve it? That is the consummate revelation of agape, or godly love, and that’s the extent to which He went to show His love for us and is truly the highest form of love ever shown. That’s why to be loved by God is far and away the highest relationship there is.
His Love Never Fails
God’s love never fails, and He never gives up on us, even when we give up on Him (Psalm 136:1-2), which is why He is worthy to be worshipped. The Hebrew word for worship is “shachah” and means to “bow down to” or “to depress,” and it is literally “to touch the forehead to the ground.” Isn’t He worthy of such? The Greek word for worship is “proskyneō” and means “to kiss the hand” and again, as with the Hebrew word, “to touch the ground with the forehead.” It is to lay ourselves prostrate before Him and kneel to pay homage to the King of kings because His love never fails and He never gives up on us, even when we are forsaking Him. Is there any greater relationship possible?
A Closing Prayer
Oh Great God, You are so worthy to be worshipped because of the great display of love You proved for us at Calvary. There is no greater love than Yours because You are faithful, and I thank You, oh great God in heaven, for the love You have shown us. Nothing else could ever compare with having a loving relationship with You.
