“Our universe is a perfectly safe place to be.”

A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God's Love from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 166). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Here is the context of this thought. John says, “Dallas Willard writes that Jesus lived a life of utter trust because he understood his Father to be unfailingly competent and wholly devoted. Here is the striking result: ‘With this magnificent God positioned among us, Jesus brings the assurance that our universe is a perfectly safe place for us to be.’”

John says, “A mother wakes up during a thunderstorm. She hurries to her son’s room after a particularly bright flash of lightning, knowing he will be terrified. To her surprise, he is standing at a window. ‘I was looking outside,’ he says, ‘and you’ll never guess what happened. God took my picture.’ He was convinced God was at work and therefore that the universe was a perfectly safe place for him to be.”

And then John goes on, “Matthew tells us that Jesus and his followers were in a boat once when ‘without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake’; a not uncommon occurrence on the Sea of Galilee. The disciples were understandably frantic, but the text says Jesus was taking a nap. Why does Matthew include the information that Jesus was sleeping? Because Matthew wants us to understand. Given what he knew about the Father, Jesus was convinced that the universe was a perfectly safe place for him to be. The disciples had faith in Jesus. They trusted that he could do something to help them. But they did not yet have the faith of Jesus. They did not share his settled conviction that they were safe in God’s hands. This is what Paul called ‘the peace of Christ.’”

Oh that we would get to that place that we would have “the peace of Christ.” That we would see that “with this magnificent God positioned among us”, and that He is unfailingly competent and wholly devoted and in that we can be assured that our universe is a perfectly safe place for us to be. Oh God, I pray that I would have that utter trust that Jesus has.

Is that your prayer too?

Comments

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