November 2000

[Part Forty]

“Make us truly thankful!”

                Every Gift of God to His people is Himself for He is the only true reality! God’s “Self” is all there is that can be bestowed on us! [The same is true of all men of spirit!] And since He says, “I am the Lord, I DO NOT CHANGE” (Mal 3:6); we may conclude that the first manifestation of God, Himself, is the same as His last revelation to us! Now since Scripture reveals, “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8), any presentation of God must be LOVE! And as God is an infinitely multiplex Being, so also His LOVE is surely an infinite and multiplex entity! With this in mind, God would say to us that He and His Love are synonymous with Forgiveness! Therefore every Gift of God is trifold as: Himself; His Love; and His Forgiveness! His divine nature and His gifts are covenantal with Forgiveness. Why? Because the original spelling of forgive was, “FORE-GIVE”, defined as,

“TO ‘GIVE BEFORE’ BEING ASKED”!!

                This is confirmed in Scripture- our first and last Authority on Truth! First, on God’s Love, “This is Love, not that we first loved God, but that GOD FIRST LOVED US (and to prove this) to pay for our sins, He sent His Son to be the Propitiation [Gk 2434. “Mercyseat”- the lid of the Ark of the Covenant in Moses’ Tabernacle. Ex 25:18-22] So now “We glory in tribulation (not run from it), for we know that tribulation produces the Fruit of Long-suffering; and Long-suffering produces necessary experience; and experience brings the Hope that removes our shame (“of nakedness”, Re 3:18), so the Love of God may shine forth in our hearts as sunshine by the Holy Spirit given us! For while we were yet *without strength (Gk 772. “Sick”- unto death) Christ died for the ungodly at the fore-ordained time...so God demonstrated His Love to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! And much more than being justified by His Blood, He will save us from wrath! For if, while we were still His *enemies, we were reconciled to God by the DEATH of His Son; having been reconciled, we shall then be saved by His LIFE!” (Ro 5:3-10)
What immeasurable height, depth, width and breadth of Love that God FORE-GAVE us as we were: “without strength”, “sinners” and “enemies”! God defines His enemies as all who are “Friends of this world” (Jas 4:4), and “Flesh-minded...which is death”! (Ro 8:6-7) For because of our death God provided the Death of His Son for He knew two negatives cancel each other out! He also knew by FORE-GIVING us His Love, we could then “Love the brethren- and thereby- pass from death (carnal-mindedness) to Life (Spirit-mindedness)!” (Ro 8:6)
                There are many languishing souls who are presently being drawn back to God’s Heart after a long hiatus of necessary disciplines in their lives. These 11th hour laborers (Mt 20:9) are going to have a difficult transition from their present world into the Kingdom of God, for their remnant pride paints gargoylish pictures in their minds of crawling on their bellies before their former fellowships to be castigated and humiliated by the same sort of terrible tribunal of self-righteous Pharisees that Jesus faced before facing the Cross! But they do not yet understand God’s FORE-GIVENESS of unconditional Love as well-illustrated in Christ’s parable of the repentant son who squandered his inheritance on unrighteous living in this world till he came to the place where he sat among swine starving for bread (which represented Revealed Truths of God’s Word)! Suddenly he realized the depths to which his life had sunk and decided to humble himself and go home to beg his father for a job as a servant- feeling no longer worthy to be his son! “But while a great way off, his father saw him (indicating he was watching for a long time) had mercy, and RAN TO EMBRACE and KISS HIM!” (Read: Lk 15:11-32) When the errant son started to express his penitence, his father turned away (as if to say, “I don’t need to see your humiliation!”) and told his servants,“Put the best robe on him; put a (signet) ring on his hand; put shoes on his feet; then bring the fatted calf and kill it so we can eat and be merry; for MY SON THAT WAS DEAD IS ALIVE AGAIN! HE WAS LOST, BUT NOW HE IS FOUND!!”
                This is the Love Christ commands His Body to have for one another! See it beautifully shown in the account after the flood when Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk on its wine. His evil son, Ham, found his father passed out naked in the privacy of his tent and ran to gossip to his brothers. But those good sons, Shem and Japheth, FORE-GAVE God’s love to their father, and taking a robe, BACKED INTO HIS TENT TO COVER HIS NAKEDNESS!” (Ge 9:20-27) When Noah awoke, he was so THANKFUL to his merciful sons, he mightily blessed them! As for Ham, Noah cursed his son, Canaan, for what the great wrong he had committed.
                Today as our prodigal nation and its babylonish religions offer titular thanksgiving to God as they stuff themselves at their ritualistic bacchanal feasts, let all who are truly and humbly grateful for everything He has FORE-GIVEN US of Himself, offer Him our sincerest THANKSGIVING by turning and FORE-GIVING OUR BRETHREN (both “at home” and “on their way home”) His unconditional Love! Blessings on you all this day!

[TO BE CONTINUED]