The Loveliness of Christ

A fitting gift we received this Christmas was a book by Samuel Rutherford titled, The Loveliness of Christ. It is a very small book with huge nuggets of truth for us to rest in and meditate on. During the end of our pregnancy, Emily and I would read a few pages of this book and pray together for our child and each other ... eagerly anticipating the bundle of joy that was about to arrive. We never expected Britton's entry in the way he came. Yet, now as I reflect on how God had been preparing us to be parents, I find it comforting to know that our focus was to be rightly placed on Christ and not ourselves. In my own strength, I know there is no way I would have handled this emotional roller coaster. Focus has been a theme of mine the past year as I try to ask myself, "to whom are my eyes affixed?" According to Hebrews 12, it should be fixed upon the author and perfecter of our faith. I think I've used this as a theme lately because I struggle so much to get rid of my own narcissistic tendencies. And in light of our current circumstances, I am thankful that both Emily and I are rejoicing in the birth of our son and placing our hope in the Son -- oh how lovely He is!

"The immeasurable, unchangeable, and unconditional love of God is something that is wonderful and precious beyond our abilities to assess. We who are the objects of that divine love are infinitely more treasured by our heavenly Father than we can know. Yet, because the unconditional love of the Lord is not the same thing as an absolute indulgence, we at times feel as though our God's love for us is weak, wavering, or that it has expired to be replaced by divine wrath. Here we must have a clear understanding of the difference between the nature of the love of God and the administration of that love.

It is clear from Scripture that God loves His people unconditionally. The Lord does not discover loveliness in us and find Himself attracted to us because of that, but rather by His sanctifying grace He deposits loveliness in us. Therefore, we read of our being predestined in love (Eph. 1:4,5), and of God's demonstration of His love for us in that while we were at our sinful worst, He gave His Son to die for us (Rom. 5:8). We have done nothing, nor can we do anything, to deserve or compel the Lord's love for us. It is for us a wonderful, liberating, and soul-securing truth that the ground for God's love for us is in Himself not in us. Thus, the foundation for that love is unchangeable, as God Himself is unchangeable.

However, in the administration of God's love, we sometimes find it difficult to perceive that love. This is so because God does not always show us His love in every detail and circumstance of our lives. This is not to say that anything other than His love is the source of all details and circumstances of our lives. It is rather to acknowledge that the changing details of our lives form part of a pattern designed by our heavenly Father according to His wise, holy, and loving determination. We perceive now in part, and that incomplete perception accounts for our occasionally losing sight of the love of the Lord.

We especially fail to see the love God has for us in the trials, afflictions, and deprivations of our lives. But our reckoning that circumstances contrary to our desires betray something less than our God perfectly loving us manifests our confusing divine love with divine indulgence. Our faith should cling to the clear teaching of God's Word, and not seek to read the level of our Father's love for us from the mystery of His providential dealings with us. The Word of God clearly tells us that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases (Lam. 3:22), that God has supremely and undeniably demonstrated His love for us in Christ's death for us (Rom. 5:8), that our God lovingly causes all things to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28), and that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8:38,39)." William Harrell

Continue to pray with us as we hope in the God of our salvation. We pray that Britton does not ever recall a day where Jesus Christ is not his Lord and Savior.