Thursday        January 16
A Worthy Goal

Under the umbrella of God's mercy and mediation, God takes pleasure in even the smallest positive response to His love. Through the One who alone is worthy of love and is Himself perfectly righteous, each one of us can be counted righteous and counted among God's beloved who will live with Him in perfect love for eternity. This is the great hope of the redemption, which involves Christ's work for us in heaven.

But, you might wonder, can this include even me? What if I am not good enough? What if I am afraid that I do not have enough faith?

Read Mark 9:17-29. How does God respond to the man in the story? How much faith is enough faith?

The disciples could not cast out the demon; all hope seemed lost. But Jesus came and told the father, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23, NKJV). And the father tearfully replied,

"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24, NKJV).

Notice, Jesus did not say to the man, "Come back to me when you have more faith." Instead his cry, "Help my unbelief," was enough.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), and yet Jesus accepts even the smallest faith and, by faith (through the mediation of Christ), we can be pleasing to Him. Through faith and because of Christ's work on our behalf, we can respond in ways that please God, similar to the way that a human father is pleased when a child brings him a gift that is otherwise worthless.

Thus, we should follow Paul's counsel to make it our goal to "be well pleasing to" God (2 Cor. 5:9-10, NKJV; compare with Col. 1:10, 1 Thess. 4:1, Heb. 11:5). And we should ask God to transform our interests to include the best interests of those whom we love, and to expand our love so that it reaches out to others. "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality" (Rom. 12:10-13, NKJV).

If God accepts us through Christ, how much more should we accept others? What light does the command to love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18, Matt. 22:39) and the golden rule to treat people the way you want to be treated shed on this idea?

Tuesday       January 14
Pleasing God?

How could it be that the God of the universe takes delight in mere humans, fleeting blobs of protoplasm on one tiny planet amid what is probably an infinite universe? How could it be possible that humans could matter so much to the Supreme Being, who is all-powerful and who needs nothing? These questions can be parsed into two aspects. First, how could God Himself be delighted? Second, how could humans bring Him delight, particularly given our sinfulness? The first aspect of these questions is the topic for today and the second for tomorrow.

Read Isaiah 43:4; Psalm 149:4; and Proverbs 15:8-9. What do they tell us about God taking delight in His people?

As we partially saw yesterday, God can be pleased by humans because God loves people in a way that takes account of their best interests, as would anyone who loved and cared for others.

Conversely, God is displeased by His people when they do evil. Indeed, Proverbs 15:8-9 teaches that, while the "sacrifice" and the "way" of the wicked are each an "abomination to the LORD," the "prayer of the upright is His delight" and "He loves [the one] who follows righteousness" (NKJV). Not only does this passage show that God is displeased by evil, but that He delights in goodness. It also puts divine delight and love in direct relationship with one another, showing the deep connection between God's love and His delight, which appears throughout Scripture.

According to Psalm 146:8, "The LORD loves the righteous" (NKJV). Second Corinthians 9:7 adds, "God loves a cheerful giver" (NKJV). Notice, first, what these texts do not say. They do not say that God loves only the righteous or that God loves only the cheerful giver. God loves everyone. Yet, for these texts to convey anything at all, they must mean that God loves the "righteous" and the "cheerful giver" in some special sense. What we have seen in Proverbs 15:8-9 provides the clue: God loves these and others in the sense of being pleased with them.

Think about how closely tied heaven and earth must be that God, the Creator of the universe, can be so intimately involved, even emotionally, with us. What hope should this amazing idea give you, especially if you are going through a hard time?

Sunday       January 12
More Valuable Than You Can Imagine

As we saw in an earlier lesson, there is no one—even the worst sinner or worst evildoer—whom God does not love. And because God values people more than we could possibly imagine, He is displeased by sin because He loves us and knows what sin does to us, as well.

Read Luke 15:11-32.

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

What does the parable of the prodigal son reveal about God's compassion and love? What warning does it provide for those who, like the other son, remained home?

In this story that Jesus tells, the man's son requested his inheritance early, effectively rejecting his father and his father's household. The prodigal son then goes on to squander his inheritance and is reduced to poverty and hunger, envying pigs that eat from a trough. Realizing that the servants in his father's house have more than enough food, he decides to return home in hopes of becoming a servant.

What follows is powerful. Some fathers would turn such a son away upon his return. "You took your inheritance and cut yourself off from my house. You no longer have a home here." That would be a logical, even reasonable, attitude, would it not? In the eyes of some human parents, the son had gone too far to be accepted back home, especially as a son.

But, in the parable, the father (representing God Himself) does not respond in any of these ways. Rather, "he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." Verse 20. Even though it was considered less than dignified in such times for the master of the house to run out to meet someone, the father in his great compassion ran out to meet his son and, more astonishingly, restored him to his household, even throwing a celebration in his behalf, signifying the great compassion of God for each wayward person and the delight He takes in even a single person returning home. What a picture of God!

Interesting is the reaction of the other son. Why was this reaction such a human reaction, based at least in part on fairness, and so understandable, as well? What, however, does his part of the story teach us about how human concepts of fairness don't capture the depth of the gospel or of God's love for us?

Things on this Earth are not fair. But, when Jesus came and taught us the joy of helping others, we found that God not only loves us, but does not forsake us when we are unfair. It is not fair that Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the whole world. Have we learned the lesson about it being more blessed to give than to receive?

Friday        January 10

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Privilege of Prayer,” pp. 93-104, in Steps to Christ.

“Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of His children. ‘The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.’ James 5:11. His heart of love is touched by our sorrows and even by our utterances of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest. ‘He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.’ Psalm 147:3. The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son. ”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 100.

Discussion Questions:

    Dwell on the sentence above: “The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son.” What comfort does this give you, and how should you live your life, knowing the closeness of God to you and His care for you? How can you learn to live with the reality of that wonderful promise? Imagine if, day by day, you could truly believe it.

God promises us that if we will learn of Him, if we will behold Him daily, we will be transformed into His character. 2 Cor. 3:18.

    In light of this week’s lesson, how do you understand Psalm 103:17, 18? What does it reveal about how God’s love is everlasting, and yet how the benefits of a relationship with God are dependent upon whether we will accept His love?

God does not forgive sin until we repent. Repentance comes from God, but we must behold His grace in order to come to repentance. We are saved by grace. It surrounds us but does no good unless we see it and take into the heart.

    In what ways does knowing this make a difference in your relationship with God? How does it affect the way you think of the sorrows of others?

It is very sad that many are called but few choose to spend time with Jesus every day. Thus, they do not really know of His great love and that there are conditions to receive the hatred for Satan and sin that is promised in Gen 3:15.