By Laura Springer with Jeff Barnhart
Key Passages: Psalm 46.8-11; Hosea 6.1-10; Amos 4.12-13; Micah 6:8
Key Idea: God, who is holy, sovereign, and powerful, reveals his holiness alongside his hesed, and protects his people and his glory by strictly guarding his holiness.
We live in a culture where many put much of life on social media, yet talking to one another face-to-face about deep things is rare. When we mess up, we assume we can handle it ourselves. While every person and community has baggage, we too often sweep it under the rug and let it fester. But we cannot follow Jesus alone. We cannot handle our problems alone. We cannot heal our community without confession of God's holiness and our weakness as a community.
God is holy. He is fiercely passionate about goodness, and he demands a holy people. His requirements are clear: God’s people must contribute to moral righteousness, do and maintain kindness, and humbly live life alongside him. But he does not leave us to do this in our own strength. Instead, he forms us. He gives the grace of blunt and repeated warnings about sinful choices so we might turn back to him. Even more, his blunt warnings are always accompanied by his covenant love: we are safe in his care, for he is our God, and we are his people.
God is our God. He has made an eternal covenant in Christ that we will be his people, and he will be our God, the one who has united us and made us family. He promises to be with us always and draw us to himself to dwell in his presence for eternity. These promises are certain. When we have completed our days in time, we will live in his holy and loving presence forever. But his presence is not just assured for eternity. No. He is present among us right now, for God the Spirit has taken up residence in and among us. He is the first installment of life forever with God. He is right here with us.
If we’re honest, sometimes God’s presence makes us uncomfortable, especially when we have turned our faces away. When our hearts are toward him, we experience the Spirit as the Lover of our souls. When our hearts are toward ourselves and our desires, we experience him as Judge or distant Sovereign.
God will never leave us. But neither will he leave us alone when we’re messing up. Our loving, ever-present God is a holy God who expects a holy people. Without one another, being a Christian is just too hard. Without relying on God, becoming like Christ is impossible. We need one another, and we need him. We must confess and repent and press into him as a church family. We must faithfully walk beside one another with open ears, open hands, and tender hearts. We need to help one another rest in God's unrelenting covenant love. God is always right here with us, and we have no need to fear anything or anyone but the God who loves us most and best.
Who writes Academy? Laura has an MDiv in Christian Education, a ThM in Systematic Theology, and a PhD in Educational Studies. She also serves TFB as a guitarist (primarily) and singer in TFB's worship band. Jeff has a Certificate in Biblical and Theological Studies and is currently working on an MA in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care. He also serves as kitchen lead for TFB's Family Dinner, co-lead in the Young Adult Ministry, and as TFB’s bookkeeper.
