2 Samuel 14:14 “All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out onto 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.”
Tucked away in a these couple chapters of raw sin on the part of the people that are supposed to be walking in the ways of God is this incredible verse about the very nature of God. This verse reminds its readers that God is not a God that destroys but He is a God that restores. The verse tells us that God is one that specializes in bringing the prodigal home. We can’t help but hear Luke 15 in the background or for that matter, we can hear the angel talking to Mary about this child she will give birth to. God desires nothing more then to bring those separated from Him back into relationship with Him…….we should not be surprised with the coming of Jesus Christ.
It is so easy for us to get caught up in discussions of theology around the nature of God and forget the most fundamental quality of God’s nature. God is first and foremost concerned about bringing that which is separated from Him back into relationship with Him. God desires to restore a relationship with a humanity that rejected that relationship. Every other attribute of God must come through this proclamation. If an attribute contradicts the restoring nature of God then we must re-examine that suggested quality. In fact, it are scriptures like this that are tucked away among the chaos of scripture that serve as a hedge to keep us on track. I wonder what would happen if a group of people were committed to viewing God first and foremost as a restorer within the world.
Lord Jesus, help me to remember today that you are God’s testimony to this text. You are the testimony that God is fundamentally about restoring that which is lost back into relationship with Him. I want to thank you today for this gift of restoration; I can’t imagine what life would be like without the restoring gift of you in my life. Give me the strength to proclaim this message today and that others would experience that same sort of restoring power in their lives. Amen.
God desires to restore that which is separated and He accomplishes this through Jesus Christ.
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