Today’s lesson may leave you with more questions than answers, but sometimes those are the best ones. Don’t worry if you leave today with one or more areas where you are confused. Just ask God to let the seeds that are planted in your heart & mind today to grow your understanding of Him as He desires, and in His timing.
We’ve talked about the fact that the Bible is one cohesive story that can be concisely described in one sentence – The Bible is the story of God pursuing us. Although it seems like God changes dramatically from the old testament to the new, He does not. That’s not to say His “agreement” or covenant with us isn’t different now than before Jesus came to earth, because it definitely is significantly different. But God’s plan has always been one overarching strategy designed to bring us closer to Him.
God has always known exactly what would happen everywhere on earth and with every person, at every moment in time. The earliest example we have of this is hidden in plain sight in Genesis 2:17-18 which says:
You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.
And, of course, they did eat the fruit. It’s a heartbreaking and confounding story but it starts to make more sense when we consider the part that’s hidden in plain sight. God doesn’t “if” you eat from the tree, he says “when” you eat from it. He knew all along what they would do. He did not have to turn to plan B. He’s always been working from plan A.
Just like Adam & Eve, we’ve all done things God asks us not to do and we all carry some form of guilt or shame thinking that we’ve let Him down. We ask ourselves how we could possibly face God having come up short in so many ways. But just like in the garden, God has always known what we would do in advance. And, even with all of our mistakes, He could not possibly love us any more than He does.
I am genuinely in awe and humbled by the fact that He knows everything about us, all of our mistakes past & future and HE STILL LOVES ME AND YOU more than any of us can possibly imagine. That’s not to say that He doesn’t want us to consistently strive to get better, but simply that we don’t need to go to Him with shame and regret in our hearts. He forgives us for all of it, and all of it is part of the plan. Accepting this forgiveness is not always easy, of course, but for many of us, that is the first step to embracing a deeper relationship with God.
Questions:
- Was there anything that struck you about today’s lesson? Maybe something you had not previously considered?
- Was there anything confusing to you about today’s lesson?
- What, if anything, about today’s lesson gave you a sense of peace and comfort?
- Do you agree that accepting forgiveness is often the first step in deepening our relationship with God? Why or why not?
- What are your main take-aways from today’s lesson?
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