Aivazovsky, “The 9th Wave”
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22, 23
For Sunday, July 1st, 2012
Proper 8
These are some of my favorite words in the whole Bible and express beautifully why I am a Christian. God really is here.
His steadfast love (Hebrew ‘hesed’) never ceases and his mercies never come to an end despite all of the sin I’ve committed against him. His love and mercy are new every morning. Hurray! Today is a new day.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul. Are there challenges in my life? Sure. For example, I battle against low-grade depression. Yet knowing that my soul is safe, loved, and secure in the love of God makes this a battle that can be won. This is why I continue to hope in him.
Christianity doesn’t get a fair hearing in popular media. Just last night as a family we were watching a SciFi movie called “Mist” featuring a crazed woman with a Bible who is thankfully put out of her misery with a bullet to her head. Yet this is not the real deal: Lamentations 3:22, 23 is.
Modernity has resulted souls adrift with neither anchor nor sustenance. Christianity, anchored in the historical reality of the resurrection of Christ from the dead for the forgiveness of our sins, invites us to a better way. May our souls find their portion.
