Thought of the Day 04.16.10

Have you ever found yourself reading the Old Testament and just been baffled at how stupid and stubborn these people were? I mean the Jews repeatedly look like the worst people to make “chosen.” Now, obviously one way to react to this is to realize that I would likely be no better if I had been in their situation, which is humbling. But this presumes that the point of these passages is to say something about me when in reality the purpose of all Scripture is to say something about God.

So, imagining that God did this on purpose, why did He make such an obviously bad choice? Simple. It tells us the most important thing about His character. See, if God were to love the beautiful, smart, virtuous people, that would have showed us nothing. But by deliberately choosing to reveal Himself as the lover of such pathetic people, He was profoundly proclaiming His generosity and compassion.

The question for us is whether we will cherish this about Him and follow His example in our own lives or whether we will continue to show our favor to only the people who basically deserve it.