God

Know that in that day, when Christ takes us to himself fully and finally, one moment in heaven will be worth a thousand lifetimes of trial. All of our regrets, failures, worries, will be assigned to oblivion when we enter into the joyful presence of our supremely kind Saviour and Friend, our Lord and Brother, our King and our God.

When Scripture reveals that God is light, it speaks of an overwhelmingly beautiful light that shines forth in radiant goodness. A light that brings life and warmth and joy and abundance to all the places it touches. All flourish and abound under its rays.

What kind of love is this? What kind of God is this?  The kind who says, “Come.”   “Come to the wedding feast.”  So, come, hungry. Come, thirsty. He has prepared a table for you. And it is only here, with him, where your hunger is satisfied, and your cup overflows. 

Even when our hearts are as cold and dead as winter, Jesus’ words blow in like an early spring breeze, warm and welcomed through the window, awakening us to himself.

You don’t need to wonder whether he is growing weary of you, whether he is secretly suspicious of you. He is the friend who sympathizes and is moved by our weakness. He is a friend who loves at all times (Pr. 17:17). His loyalty is unwavering, his correction is most tender, and his goodness and love pursue us all the days of our lives.

“This is my brother, all that is mine is his. Let’s celebrate. For this brother of mine was lost, but now is found.” Christ is not ashamed to call you brother. To call you sister. To call you family. He has joined you to himself and brought you into the same affectionate embrace that he enjoys with the Father.

As God sends out Christ as the life and delight of the saints—the Bridegroom that the Bride is invited to enjoy—so we send him out in our preaching.

The following message by Michael Reeves was given at the 2022 Puritan Conference.

The Father is the lover, the Son is the beloved. The Bible is awash with talk of the Father’s love for the Son, but while the Son clearly does love the Father, hardly anything is said about it.

The Lord’s Prayer isn’t just a set liturgy or guide to prayer. It is an offering where Jesus extends to us the very keys of heaven that he himself possesses. He invites us to come to the Father as he does, to know the Father as he does—and on the very same terms. As he leads us to his Father, we discover that the goal of prayer is not that we get something from God, but that we get God himself.