You yourself are so good that it is hard not to feel inadequate when you are near us. Your presence is a censure to our thoughts because we know that they are unworthy of you. We do selfish things but your life is not like ours. You hold aloof from our paths as from things impure. You refuse to join in the behavior by which we tear ourselves and one another down.
But you do not come to condemn us.
Jesus, you come to save us. We so need saving. We need to listen when you call "blest the destiny of the just". God is your Father and your words are true. You want the blessedness of the just for us. You want to tell us how to get it.
So help us not to rebel, Jesus. Help us not to put you to the test. You come to us in great mercy. You come to save us. But your goodness calls us to account for all the darkness of our hearts. We so identify with this darkness that we feel our very identities threatened as you draw near. We risk being blinded by wickedness.
The destiny of the just is blessed, LORD, but if we find ourselves on the defensive before you we do not "count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the innocent souls' reward." We become so invested in defending the broken and failed means by which we try to find happiness that we don't hear you telling us where genuine happiness is found.
So come to us, Jesus. Help us to be humble as you come. You come that your light may shine into our hearts and lives. You come because it hurts you to see us remain in darkness. Help us to let go of the darkness. As your presence challenges us to change you yourself are the light and power which makes that change possible.
We try to write you off, LORD. When you call us deeper we say, "we know where he is from". We tell ourselves that we already know you, who you are and everything which your power can do. We excuse ourselves from the challenge you bring at this moment because we let our own flawed past shape our expectations.
Help us to be humble, Jesus, when you come before us. Help us to realize that there is far more to you than we have guessed thus far. Help us "have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" (cf. Eph. 3:18).
We don't understand where you are from. Not really.
“You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
If we understood we would be more interested in following you to that kingdom. We would stake everything on a recompense of holiness and the innocent soul's reward.
We do tend to harden our hearts. We do close ourselves to you so that we can be comfortable and ignore the challenge of holiness. But you want to come to us again this morning. You want to come right now. You are willing to create the humility in us that you need to come to us. We need only ask.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
Come, LORD Jesus.
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