God’s Love Reaching, Our Love Responding Post - Kerry Shook

“All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, He devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from Him.” 2 Samuel 14:14 (NLT) 

God’s Love Reaching…

This verse is an amazing description of God’s love reaching out to you and me!   This verse also elevates the value of human life despite how fragile and transient it is. These words were spoken to King David by an unnamed woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom.  Packed with meaning, her appeal to the King was an effort to restore his relationship with his estranged son, Absalom. Though David was a man after God’s own heart and Israel’s greatest King, he suffered from dysfunctional relationships at home.  It was the consequence of his own moral failure.  Whether it is in our relationship with God or one another, sin always separates us.  That separation can cost us the most important relationships if we let it.  Life is short.  Is there someone in your family with whom you are estranged?  Hurt feelings, misunderstandings, bad choices, harsh words can all lead to separation and rob us from the relationship we deeply long for and were created to enjoy.

“But God does not just sweep life away….” 

I love that phrase!  God understands better than we do the significance of restoring broken relationships and healing the hurts that tore us apart.

“He devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from Him.” 

Think for a moment.  What are the ways God devised that brought you back to Him?  He longs for relationship with you and me so much so that He gave His one and only Son to reconcile us back to Him!  And as if that were not enough, He engineers circumstances, experiences and people in our lives in whom He works to get our attention.  One of the great ways God uses today to bring us back when we have been separated from Him is the church.  The church is the visible expression of an invisible God reaching out to a hurting world separated from Him.  His love reaches out in a myriad of practical ministries that demonstrate His love.  That’s why it’s so important to be a part of a local church.

Our Love Responding…