September 24
5He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5, 6)
Hello friends. This is a very special post. I had to pull some truth from the OId Testament, all the way back at the very first book of the Holy Bible. Another week has slipped through my fingertips. I am just a few days away from breaking out of Annual Training with my unit in the Georgia National Guard. While our schedule has not been too bad, coming home to a fussy newborn needing to be held, two school-age children needing to play or help with homework, and an exhausted wife just needing a break, I have not been able to sit down and write something for y’all. I am hoping that when I go back to my day job, I’ll have a little more free time, but we shall see.
Back to why this post is so special. Despite the entire world burning down around us: Russia threatening nuclear war as they call up hundreds of thousands of reservists for the first time since World War II, Pakistan still begging for aid from the historic flooding they faced last week, Puerto Rico slammed by another powerful hurricane, Iran falling in civil unrest over the death of a young woman for not wearing a headscarf, and the US mainland facing the threat of it’s direct hit from the next storm churning in the Atlantic. Despite all this, despite all these man-made disasters from climate change to a murderous campaign of war, despite all our ugliness and our sinful natures, Jesus and God love us. They still adore us, we, their precious children. And the band We The Kingdom just released the most beautiful song, who’s lyrics preach a truth about the love Jesus has for us. Click the image below to listen to these words of compassion for yourself.
When I first heard this song, driving home from training, I thought: this is a perfect song for a wedding, or a love song between two passionate souls. But then I began to listen to it over and over as both our older kids fell instantly enthralled by the melody and words. Our 11-year-old dances around the house in a stunning contemporary dance she choreographs in her head. Our son dance-battles imaginary ninjas to protect his maiden in distress. As we listened to this song over and over again, I began to really pay attention to the words, and it suddenly dawned on me what We The Kingdom actually intended with this song. “Count The Stars” was written from the point-of-view of Jesus Christ, singing about how He would cross the “Great Divide” to win our hearts. Once the underlying message of this song hit my heart, I was a wreck for a good minute, imagining the entire Heavenly Host singing this song for me. And you. And all of mankind.
Why do we continue to hate, to judge, to hurt others, to lift up worldly desires, to destroy the world around us, when our Creator created us for exactly the opposite of all that: to love Creation, and to Love His greatest Creation? No matter what you are facing, no matter how lonely you may feel, no matter how much life is putting on your shoulders, just look up and count the stars. Jesus has always been there for you and He always will.
Common Sense Reborn 