For love were we created — let love
prevail among us, genuine,
sincere, and willing to learn —
in all things honest, earnest,
accepting — as you accepted us.
Welcoming house of God!
Let nations come to dwell here!
To Begin and End with You
To begin and end with you
Is all a man could dream of.
The dawn of each new day
Brings copious gifts from heaven;
To offer a prayer of thanks,
That dissident act of courage.
Provide, O Lord, each need
Of your obedient people.
What joy to speak at your feet,
The Sovereign God of powers!
Come bless your humble servant
With naught but nearest presence.
The Father is Seeking Such People
The Japanese art of kintsugi or ‘golden repair’ mends broken pottery with gold, silver, or platinum, and in the end, makes the piece worth more than it originally did. While all we see are the ways in which we have been broken by sin, God, who loves us unconditionally, sees our great value to Him. We are to return that love in kind through true worship.
I. Romans 8:28-39. The body is loved by the Bridegroom. Academically, we don’t doubt His love for us (Romans 5:6-8), we claim. We just doubt our worth. But, many know that a parent’s love for a child doesn’t make the value of that child go up or down depending on the child’s behavior. So, God loves us greatly and assigns us infinite value–so much that He gave us His Son.
II. John 4:23-26. The Bridegroom is seeking true worshipers. When two single people are attracted to one another, they seek each other with a desperation, hoping that he or she is the one to marry. So, even though God loves all He has made, He is seeking ‘true worshipers,’ those who will be part of His bride, the church, and will love Him back (in spirit and truth). That manifests itself in repentance (Luke 15:4-21) as He mends us back together in kintsugi-like fashion to make us more valuable to Him than we were before.
III. Revelation 19:7-9. The bride makes herself ready, her fine linen the righteous acts of the saints. This is the true worship she engages in–that which is in spirit and truth. So many today have the zeal for God without right doctrine. They are like blindfolded dart players, rarely hitting the target. Like the five virgins who had forgotten to buy oil for their lamps, they eagerly await the Bridegroom in vain (Matthew 25:1-13). We must return His seeking of us with true worship that combines both.
Any relationship is two-sided. We deceive ourselves if we believe God will seek us if we aren’t seeking Him in return. We must return His love with true worship.