My son and his wife have just bought a rabbit called Thumper. I’ve never had regular contact with rabbits before, and I’m smitten. Thumper is incredibly cute:
I’m becoming (so I’m told) something of a ‘Thumper bore.’ I can wax lyrical for hours about his pointy ears which swivel around when he’s listening alertly, his twitchy nose, his soft whiskers, his big, soulful dark eyes, his ability to hop and flop. I love to feed him cucumber and lettuce and hear his sharp teeth nibbling excitedly. I would never have believed I could find so much character in a rabbit, nor can I quite believe that any other rabbit is as lovely as this one.
When we’re in love, we are very aware of the reasons to adore. Lovers spend hours telling each other of all the things they love about each other; you only have to read the Song of Songs to see that (especially Song of Songs 4:1-15; 5:10-16). So what are the reasons we have to adore God?
- God is holy, pure, incapable of wrongdoing (Lev 11:44, Job 1:22).
- He is love, capable of unconditional love which is everlasting. (1 John 4:8, Jer 31:3)
- He is faithful, remaining true to His covenant even when people are faithless (Deut 7:9, 2 Tim 2:13).
- He is full of compassion and mercy (Ps 86:15, Ps 103:8, 13, Lam 3:22)
- He forgives our sins, removing them from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps 103:3, 9-12)
- He is in full control of the whole universe which He created; He is the author and finisher of faith and the One who sustains everything. (Gen 1, Heb 1:3, Heb 12:1-3, Rev 22:13)
- He is true and just in all He does. (Rev 15:3)
- He knows everything, including our innermost thoughts and feelings, and yet He loves us just the same. (Ps 139)
- He is good and all that He does is good. (Ps 119:68)
- He is gracious and merciful, bestowing good gifts on us even though we don’t deserve them and withholding the punishment and judgment we do deserve because by His grace and mercy, He has borne that punishment and judgment at Calvary (Jn 1:17, Ps 84:11, Deut 4:31, Rom 5:8)
- He is kind. (2 Sam 22:51, Jer 9:24)
- He is truth. (John 14:6)
- Life and light reside in Him. (Jn 1:3-4, 1 Jn 1:2, 5)
The reasons for adoration are bound up in the person of God Himself. He acts in complete accordance with His character, showing no duplicity or dissonance, always acting consistently and with integrity. When we pause even for a brief time to consider who God is, our list of reasons to adore Him fills the pages and we are left with thankful, grateful hearts.
I recently came upon this quote from Puritan writer Thomas Brooks on contemplating Jesus. He writes, ‘He is a jewel more worth than a thousand worlds, as all know who have him. Get him, and get all; miss him and miss all… The soul can crave nothing, nor wish for anything, but what is to be found in this Portion. He is light to enlighten the soul, wisdom to counsel the soul, power to support the sould, goodness to supply the soul, mercy to pardon the soul, beauty to delight the soul, glory to ravish the soul and fullness to fill the soul.’ (The Unsearchable Riches of Christ,’ P 263) Amen!