IMAGO DEI: Published September 29, 2016
www.imagodeicommunity.ca
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story-
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.
Psalm 107:2
It is not very difficult for me to remember the man I was when Christ first found me—a man who had, in many ways, lost his life to foolishness and dissipation. I know that I am not the same person today that I was when I first met Jesus. The very dignity of sonship that I had squandered and that I never imagined could be recovered has somehow been restored to me. I am a new creation today, a very different person from who I was as a young prodigal. My life has been given back to me, and it is easily understood as gift. As I often say to God, “my life belongs more to You than to me, not because I give it to You, but because You gave it to me.”
Such gratitude in recognition of what we have been saved from is the call to worship that we hear repeated again and again in Psalm 107. It is a reminder to all those Jesus has rescued from afar—from the hand of the foe—to “give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for humankind” (v. 15).
The Psalm reminds those who “wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle” (v. 4) how the Lord has graciously saved them. It recalls their lostness and how God delivered them from their distress and “led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle” (v. 7). Does this imagery apply to any period of wandering in your own life? Have you too been rescued from lostness or aloneness and placed in a community where God is now establishing you in love? If so you are encouraged to “give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for humankind.”
The Psalmist next describes those who “sat in darkness because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High” (v. 10-11). It reminds them how they “stumbled, and there was no one to help” (v. 12). But it also recalls how they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and how “He brought them out of darkness and broke their chains” (v. 14). Are there periods in your life when you knowingly rebelled against God’s commands and subsequently found yourself stumbling? If you have been given reprieve from the consequences of such, then you too are encouraged to “give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for humankind.”
The Psalmist continues, now addressing those who “became fools through their rebellious ways” (v. 17). They “suffered affliction because of their iniquities” (V. 17). It reminds them how they too cried to the Lord in their trouble, and how “ He sent out His word and healed them.” If you have experienced, in any way, the salvation and healing of God’s mercy applied to the foolishness of some of your life choices, then you too are called to “give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for humankind.”
And finally, there are those who, through no fault of their own, experienced calamity in life. The Psalmist draws on the imagery of a ship caught in a storm, where the waves are lifted high and we fear for our safety. We are to recall such times of peril when our “courage melted away” (vs. 26) and how, when we cried out to the Lord, He “stilled the storm to a whisper” (v. 27) and “guided us to our desired haven” (v. 30). We are to especially remember the gratitude we felt after the storm—how glad we were when it grew calm.
For these and countless other experiences of God’s salvation in our lives we are invited to “give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for humankind.” As we begin a new year together, let us remember and celebrate God’s grace throughout our lives. Let us approach the year with gratitude, recalling the wonderful mercies we have already seen. And let us, with genuine hope, anticipate such continuing mercies from the Lord in the days to come.
Rob Des Cotes
Imago Dei Christian Communities
(written for January 16, 2014)
FOR DISCUSSION:
- Which of these four narratives do you have experience of? The plight of lostness? Rebelliousness? Foolishness? Calamities? What did these experiences teach you about God’s desire and ability to save you?
- Take time to focus on a particular event in your life in which one of these narratives applied. If you are in an Imago Dei group, and if appropriate, share this story with others so that they too can give thanks to God.
- Why do you think Scripture often calls us to remember and recount the saving mercies of God in our lives and in our communities? How might you might commemorate these stories of God’s grace through a symbolic act or artifact (e.g. Gen. 25:18)?
FOR PRAYER: Consider how the Lord’s saving grace has transformed your life. Meditate on the fact that you are not the same person today as you were when Jesus first found you. Imagine what your life would look like if you had never met the Lord. Give thanks to God for the many ways the knowledge of Christ has saved you.