He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created. James 1:18.

For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23.

Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Psalm 90:10.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 125: Given vinegar in thirst. Psalm 69:21: They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. And, Matthew 27:34: They gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

One of the things I’m understanding in my walk with Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, is how much I cannot do. Especially how much I cannot yet understand of His love. In prayer this morning I thought of two related things. The light of God’s love is like the light of a lighthouse piercing the deepest fog. We are given free will and even beginning as small children we push outward in our quest to grow and discover our own strength. And the confusions we can’t understand about our lives are like that fog. Why are we here? Why am I like this and not something else? What is the meaning of this life? And like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) who spent everything including himself in his own outward quest and comes to the end of everything he can do, expects his father to react as his older brother reacts with condemnation and distance and judging harshly. But his father runs to him and embraces him because he loves him. We are the prodigal children lost in the fog of confusion. The light of God’s love pierces that fog like that powerful light of the lighthouse set where it can be seen to warn against being too close to danger near cliffs and rocks of shore, and to show us the way home our hearts long for when we can no longer see our way through the fog of this world lost in sin.

Jesus took on all our sins and died for us. And He rose. The tomb was empty. The fog of sin and death could not hold Him. His resurrection to eternal life is our beacon showing us the way that is in and with Him. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11. He did that for us. His love, so great a love, is my courage. I may flounder and get caught up in the same condemnations, distance and harsh judging we all fall prey to in this world lost in sin, but His love is that powerful light drawing me forward and showing me the better way He chose and offers.

***RENEWAL – O LORD, You who have mercy upon all, take away from me my sins and mercifully kindle in me the fire of Your Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh – a heart to love and adore You, a heart to delight in You, to follow and to enjoy You, for Christ’s sake. Ambrose of Milan (c. AD 339-397).***