Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3.

When Jesus walked this earth with us, people flocked to Him to hear His teaching that was so different from anything they had heard before. How could it not be different? He made us! Yesterday we heard in the sermon the question God asked of Adam when he and Eve hid their nakedness from Him. “Who told you that you were naked?” Genesis 3:11. As our pastor further pointed out, who told us we are not loved, not good enough, not _______________. Who told us “others” are not loved? What did God tell us, our pastor asked? For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16, 17. Full stop. Savor that truth. That kind of love renews us and heals. That kind of love saves.

It’s easy to get discouraged when reading 2 Kings 21. I realized that part of why I feel so discouraged is that these words are not just dusty history that has no bearing on anything today. This is the story of us. We hold onto grudges as nations and individuals. Is it any wonder God needs patience, a fruit of the Spirit, when teaching us? Impatience never produces good fruit. Manasseh is now king of Judah and what does he do? He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name.” He sacrificed his own son in the fire; Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end. v. 3, 6, 16. When he died, his son, Amon was just as bad and was assassinated. These sins are so awful and remind us that we, too, sin. So what can we do? Learn and turn to God. Without Him leading us we believe we and others are unworthy…He knows we are loved. Full stop.

Who told us we are loved? God. When we come out of the darkness of hate something happens. God’s love renews us. He redeems us. We are His. We awaken to something so beautiful we wonder how we couldn’t see it before. God’s love changes things. God is patient. The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9.

God’s love renews us and will one day, in His perfect timing, renew the heavens and the earth. He’s here. Always. Loving us in great patience for our good always.