Authentic Living

"The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.  The LORD detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness."  (Prov. 15:8-9)

God has put order and design into creation.  He has woven His own character into it.  The winds of the world blow according to His plan.  The currents of the sea flow in ordered cycles.  The river of life gushes in one direction, and the direction is toward Him.  Order, purpose, a plan.  Our God is a God of righteousness.

That's the problem with sin.  It goes against the flow, drives against the wind, swims against the currents.  It does not recognize the character of the Compassionate in the details of the cosmos.  It corrupts and obscures the knowledge of the Holy in the heartbeat of the world.  The pulse of mankind races and staggers at ungodly rates and rhythms.  Rebellion has violated the very character of creation, contradicted the very logic of the Logos.  It is an affront to the foundation of wisdom on which this earth was laid.  God detests it.

Our treacherous, treasonous departure from the order of His handiwork has no remedy apart from a completely new creation.  So God spoke Jesus into a virgin's womb and began a new order of things.  The new creation was incorruptible by sin and unconquerable by death.  And the Spirit of the new creation is put into us by the simple act of believing it is true and of relying on its worth.

That's why God loves those who pursue righteousness.  They are demonstrating a love for the rhyme and reason by which all things are established.  We cannot truly have such a love unless He gives it, but the re-creation always does.  God puts within us a mind for wisdom, a heart for passion, and a spirit for the purity of His Kingdom.  Our newborn instincts drive us right along with the winds and the currents of His plan.

I struggle (as I'm sure you do) with stubborn disobedience.  Let it go and flee into the heart of God.  Go with His flow.  Know Him and love Him.  Let that knowledge and love shape you.  God delights in such a pursuit.  It fits Him perfectly.