Isaiah 63:7-9

Isaiah 63:7-9
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Isaiah paints a beautiful image here at the end -- God lifts us up and carries us.  Our children often tumble over and scream in pain at the latest bruise they have been dealt, and all they want is for Mom to scoop them up in her arms and make everything better.  No matter how big or small the injury, they just want to be in Mom's arms, because that will heal whatever wound there is.  When we have fallen, due to calamities in life or our own careless or selfish choices, God swoops down to us in our sin and collectively picks us up.  What happens next is amazing -- God doesn't set us on our feet and step back to watch and see if we can do it on our own.  In his grace, he carries us forward.  We have been saved and redeemed from sin, and it no longer determines our future.  While we still have lives to lead and are called to flee from sin, our fate is no longer determined by sin.  We are saved, and the love of God carries us forward.
  So yesterday we spoke of the judgment of God, and how we don't have to fear it because of the blood of the lamb.  Today, we see God's desire to save -- it was born of his love and pity, and so we are redeemed.  As I know I've mentioned before, it's not according to how good we are or how much power we have, it's according to the abundance of his love that we are redeemed, because we are his children.