God our saviour
by Dr Kirsten Due
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He couldn’t believe what he saw: not a soul around to correct this awful situation. So he did it himself, took on the work of salvation, fuelled by his own righteousness (Isaiah 59:15,16).
Read Isaiah 59:1–21
Imagine being in a leaky boat off the Somali coast. There are enormous waves, strong winds and pirates – not the sort with parrots and swords – but with machine guns and explosives. You try to bail out the water, but there’s always too much. You call on the radio – it’s dead. You send out a flare – it’s wet. There is no one to save you.
It is a bleak picture. It’s a picture of the toxic destruction sin causes – not just sin ‘out there’ but in our own lives. Sin is not just what we do but who we are from the moment of birth.
It is impossible for anything you do or anyone you know to save you from yourself and place your feet on solid ground. Sin is so toxic that unless your conscience knows it has been killed, it will sink you and all those around you even as you try and patch things up.
We need more than a nice cup of tea and some Bible verses about love to cut the throat of sin. To paraphrase PT Forsyth: the great word of the gospel is not just ‘God is love’. That is too small. It produces a life unable to cope with crises. But the word is this: love reigns not as an emotion or a feel-good thought, but because God’s love is a holy and cleansing fire. It is the voice of Christ setting the universe right at immeasurable cost to himself, enduring the holy fire of love. Because of his great mercy we are not consumed, and by faith we believe his promise: ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.’ God has won the battle. Our faith is faith in his saving grace.
We can use a hymn verse from pastor and author Geoffrey Bingham as our prayer today.
Ah, Face of love that smiles upon
The anguished spirit filled with guilt,
That sets it free and makes it strong,
And washes clean all memory’s silt;
Ah, pain that floods our hearts with love,
That draws us by Your Cross above.[1]
We cannot sink when it is you who hold us so tenderly and so tight. We give you thanks. Amen
[1] Lyrics from ‘Ah Tide Of Love’ by Geoffrey Bingham © 1990 Bingham, Geoffrey (Admin. by Mary-Grace Bingham), from New Creation Hymn Book. Used with permission from New Creation Teaching Ministry.
Dr Kirsten Due lives in Darwin with her husband, Noel, who is currently serving in the Top End Lutheran Parish. She has a postgraduate degree in psychology and is a doctor of medicine, currently engaged in remote area work in the Top End. She has written a book of children’s gospel stories (Bearen Bear and the Bunbury Tales) with a commendation by Andrew McDonough.
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