"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us." - Isaiah 33:22
There are few greater joys than being known and still being loved. In this vein, we often think about being known as the reason for not being loved. But what about being loved while not being known?
It is easy for us to love God because, through Jesus, we know that God has saved us and "will save us" (Isaiah 33:22). But do we love God without really knowing God? Yes, God saves us, and praise God for that! But today's verse makes clear that God is also judge, lawgiver, and king.
Do we know and love God as judge, lawgiver, and king? In my experience, people don't want to hear about God as judge, lawgiver, and king. But how can you really love God if you don't know God?
In brief, that God is Judge is to be an authority who is able to estimate worth or quality. God estimates that you are of such great worth that God sends his Son, Jesus, to die for you! So let's love God as Judge.
That God is Lawgiver is to be one who gives a code of laws to a people so that they're not constantly hurting each other. God is very clear in the Bible as to how we can have good relationships and not constantly hurt each other. So let's love God as Lawgiver.
That God is King is to be a ruler of an independent state, especially one who has the position by right. There's no doubt that God has the right to be King. But obedience to God the King, where obedience equals "trust in action", is a major part of being "a citizen" in God's "independent state." As we hear in Galatians 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." So let's love God as King.
Judge, Lawgiver, King. God calls us in today's verse to know that the Lord God "is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king" in addition to being the one "who will save us".
We certainly love God for saving us. Let's read our Bibles on Monday through Saturdays and be in church on Sunday so we can grow in our love for God as Judge, Lawgiver, and King too.
After all, as we said at the start, there are few greater joys than being known and still being loved. So just as God clearly knows us and still totally loves us, let's get to know more about God so we can grow in our love for God too!
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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