Read Psalm 103:13-18. 13As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 15As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, 8to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.
God knows.
God cares.
A God who knows us but doesn’t care about us would be terrifying.
A God who cares about us but doesn’t know us would be useless.
In Christ’s incarnation and in our union with Christ, God now knows us as one of us. He cares for us as one of us. Jesus knows the anxiety of facing your own mortality mixed with the bitter wine of guilt. This was the cup he asked God to take away from him in the garden. Yet in courageously facing sin’s consequence and death’s demand in our place, he conquered our biggest fear, meaninglessness, and he arose to bring us our greatest meaning, being known and loved by God.
Now God remembers us. Not just in an intellectual sense, but in an experiential sense. Christ’s compassion is not just pity for the poor, it is a shared heartache with his brothers and sisters, all those who keep his covenant of faith and remember to do obey his commandment of simple belief.
To live is Christ is to live within the knowledge and care of God from everlasting to everlasting. No longer dust. No longer grass. Forever loved and respected by a Father’s compassion.
You: Does your life ever feel meaningless? Like dust?
You in Christ: How does knowing that Jesus became like you so that you might become like him help you face your struggles today?
Christ in you: Is there a fear or worry that you can apply the loving knowledge of Christ to today?
Pray: Jesus, you know me better than I know myself. You care for me better than I care for myself. Let me settle down into being known and being loved. Amen.
To Live is Christ 