Years ago, I heard D.A. Carson address an audience at a Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist’s annual general meeting. The thrust of his message was regarding an imbalance in corporate worship. His contention was that this denomination’s corporate worship, the singing, praying and preaching predominately expressed the love, mercy, grace and forgiveness of God to the neglect of expressing the sovereign and holy righteous wrath, justice, and judgment of God.
Verideia staff for years have been praying through the Psalms in morning devotions and this year we have started to sing them much like Jesus would have. This practice has helped round out our contemplation of God’s attributes. In this season of Advent from the Latin ‘adventus’ meaning arrival or coming, we have started to reflect on the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love associated with remembering ‘Our Lord has Come’ and ‘Come Our Lord’.
In anticipation of the Lord’s return have you struggled like me, to imagine experiencing perfect joy in the new heaven and earth while loved ones are experiencing torment in Hell? It seems like a natural tension but perhaps apart from a right appreciation of God’s attributes of holiness and righteous justice, perfect peace and joy will be impossible. The more our worship of God aligns with who God really is the more glorious our eternal reign with Christ will be. As excited as children often are in anticipation of Christmas presents share with them how that is only a teeny, tiny foretaste of seeing Jesus, face to face the richest three-dimensional experience imaginable.
