God created .... An entire universe to be the expression of His genius and His creativity, and the delight of the humanity He chose to mold and shape to share it with Him. His spoken word, the catalyst. And a man and a woman to respond to Him with a reverential awe, alive with Him in a breathing, talking, working, totally consuming relationship. God was there. Felt. Heard. Watching. Caring.
Sin was chosen.... And yet still, God was there. With hope. With a plan. Consequences for the sin, yes. But God did not give up on the man, the woman, He wanted to totally give Himself to.
Promises were made...... To Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob. Imperfect men, but God was there. Listening to their frustrations. Working out the beginnings of His promises, showing Himself to be real, and dependable. Teaching them. Leading them.
A nation began to form...... A nation not free from oppression or insecurities. A nation that knew its own tragedies. But God was there. In the midst of tyranny, He had chosen a people to love, to reveal Himself to, to provide for.
The nation wandered .... and made some poor choices. And yet, when they hungered, God fed them. When they complained, God revealed His presence. They wandered, but God was leading.
God’s promises gave them a place to call “home”.... They had judges and kings to lead them. They had God’s instructions, and a way to choose that would bring blessing. But sometimes still they refused. And yet God, never abandoned them. They were His people. A people He loved and cherished. A people He gave His presence to.
There were years in which God disciplined. There were years of separation There were years of an unsettling silence, but also years of preparation. Because, God was still there. God had still promised. God still longed to give from the abundance of His grace, from the depths of His heart.
And then, a Baby was born – Perfection of the Godhead, and representative of man. The Baby journeyed from the manger to the cross, and the Baby stretched out His arms and He died. He died to give to every man, woman, and child ever conceived, the hope that is eternal, and the hope that reveals His presence one day at a time, every day, especially when we are watching. The hope that embraces us in our sin and in our pain. The hope that leads the wanderer. The hope that comforts. The hope that brings beauty from ashes. The hope that is seen is the fingerprints etched by the Presence who is God Himself.
This God – the God who shaped history because He had a plan – this God, is the same today as He was yesterday. He will be the same tomorrow. He will never leave you, or abandon you, or forget you. His grace will give to you, over and over and over, especially when you are watching, and He will leave His fingerprints, just so you know He has really been there, and still is.
(Related Bible reading: Psalm 103:1-17)
