Powerful Love

Matt.28:18 - All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.

II Cor.5:11 - Knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men...

Recently I again watched the discovery channel do a special on the Nile Crocodile. It was fascinating as it showed an almost one ton beast pulling down a zebra with its massive jaws and subsequently twisting and ripping large chunks of meat off the carcass with those same jaws. And then it documented a female crocodile laying her eggs, protecting those eggs, and then gathering her hatchlings into those same colossal jaws ever so gently. And the little crocodiles would peer out from behind her teeth as they swam in her jaws and felt at home inside the same jaws that the rest of the animal kingdom greatly feared and in whom some found violent death. The irony was striking and the Spiritual metaphor was obvious to me.

There is no power and no wrath like God Almighty’s. He could destroy the universe in a nano-second so when he pours out His wrath upon this earth He adjusts its force so as to allow for suffering rather than an instantaneous annihilation. That wrath was placed upon His Son upon the cross as a holy and just response to sin which should have been ours, the real sinners. But the Holy One became sin for us and all who wish to avoid the colossal wrath of the Father God must by faith hide inside His sacrifice. Do you begin to see the image of the crocodiles?

Many are already in an eternal state of perishing at the justice of God in an indescribable place of punishment. Who can understand the enormity of the place called hell and why God would chose not to annihilate but to elongate the torture and suffering? Just the thought of being captured in the very teeth of God’s wrath forever should make us cringe but in a holy act of grace and mercy God has offered an eternal escape that not only saves us from hell, but saves us to live eternally with Him in His dwelling place. Halleluiah to the Lamb!!

We no longer should fear our Father’s wrath but as we learn what He has saved us from it should bring us to our knees in gratitude and worship. Can you imagine, the God of all power will one day destroy all of the material universe with the brightness of His glory, the same glory that will be revealed in us. If we truly meditate on that truth our hearts become filled with a worship and praise that cannot be fully expressed in human words. God’s destructive power that will come upon the entire earth is the same power that is our protection in Christ, and the same glorious power that seals us in His hand from which we can never be plucked. Now only blood bought saints will be able to identify with this, I am fearful of the Lord but I am not afraid. That cannot be explained but those of you who are in Christ know exactly what I mean.
The little crocodiles do not realize the monstrous strength of the jaws they call home and neither can you and I fully comprehend the awesome power of the Lord God Almighty. And when we realize that His power is past our finding out we are humbled into broken and grateful worship. And now God’s power is my resting place, not my impending doom. It is that power that protects us as the bride of God’s Son against any and all enemies and in that assurance we are in peace.

Finally, we are fully dependant on our Heavenly Father in everything. When a new born baby comes forth he is absolutely helpless. He cannot eat by himself, he cannot clean himself, he cannot drink himself, and he surely cannot protect himself. He is completely dependant upon his parents for his survival. And just like that baby, we are completely dependant on the Lord for everything. The attitude that some believers have that they can chart their own course by the strength of their intellect is not only wrong it is dangerous. Many times it leads to destruction.

So let us all crawl up into the mighty and awesome power of our Father and in Him we will find safety, assurance, and a love that transcends explanation.