A Million Stars
This week, I took my baby girl out to stargaze for the first time. I pointed out the moon and her tiny mouth fell open in surprise. I turned her slowly around to meet all the stars. Watching the wonder in her eyes, I told her that God’s loving thoughts of her are more than every grain of sand (Psalm 139:17-18). Then I told her what I had learned at Alpha, that for every grain of sand, there are a million stars. And the Creator of all the stars knew all of her days before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16). Her times are safely in His hands (Psalm 31:15). He loves her with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).
It’s easy to say those things to a baby whose sweet face is lit up with the glory of the heavens. It’s harder to say them to the woman looking back out of the mirror, particularly when confronted with my own sin. And our latest KCC sermon series has unashamedly and lovingly confronted us again and again. Every week, God’s word has done its work “discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12), and it’s tempting to feel discouraged. Can you relate?
It's a natural response. We know that the news of sin is bad. Sin is an inherited, inescapable condition (Psalm 51:5). It angers God (John 3:36). It brings about death (Romans 6:23). It is wise to take time to face its reality and its consequences (Ecclesiastes 7:2). But is it possible to wholeheartedly acknowledge our sinfulness and wholeheartedly affirm that the person in the mirror is God’s beloved?
In their song, “Embracing Accusation,” musicians Shane Barnard and Shane Everrett answer the question this way:
The father of lies coming to steal, kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough
I hear him saying, "Cursed are the ones who can't abide"
He's right, Hallelujah, he's right
The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray
I cannot gain salvation, embracing accusation
Could the father of lies be telling the truth
Of God to me tonight?
If the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine
…Oh, the devil's singing over me an age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently over me
He's forgotten the refrain, Jesus saves.
Feeling convicted of sin is, as Pastor Brent has reminded us, a reassuring sign. It points to the authenticity of our status as God’s beloved children: “for the Lord reproves him who he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:12). Indulging in self-recrimination, however, is not a biblical response to sin. It can be hard to look with love at the person in the mirror because the mirror is the wrong place to look. The mirror only tells the first part of the story: we cannot gain salvation. It is only when we lift our gaze that we see the whole story:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3, New International Version).
When we are disheartened by our sin, there is only one way to move forward: by fixing our eyes on Jesus. He pioneered and perfected our faith. There’s no need to wonder if the person in the mirror is good enough to gain salvation. Jesus has already been good enough in our place (Matthew 5:17), has already gained salvation for us (Romans 6:23), and has offered to freely credit His own righteousness to us (2 Corinthians 5:21). There’s no need to wonder if the person in the mirror can earn God’s love. Jesus scorned the shame of the cross to remove the shame of His beloved. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Jesus reveals God’s deepest heart to us. God says that He feels angry at sin, but He is love (John 4:16). He says He is “slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Exodus 34:6). His deepest desire is not to punish, but to rescue (2 Peter 3:9). He is for us, not against us (Romans 8). That’s why, as Pastor Austin explained, “On the cross, your sin met God’s wrath in Jesus.” We don’t treat sin lightly, but we do rest assured that it has been definitively dealt with. Believers can now confidently enjoy God’s loving approval, purchased so dearly on our behalf.
Here’s the good news: Jesus took it all for you and me. “For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). So when there is accusation in the eyes looking back at you from the mirror, and you feel, as I sometimes do, tempted to “grow weary and lose heart,” fix your eyes on Him instead. You’ll see love looking back.
As I delight in telling my little girl, so He delights in reminding you: God’s loving thoughts of you are more than every grain of sand (Psalm 139:17-18). For every grain of sand, there are a million stars. And the Creator of all the stars knew all of your days before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16). Your times are safely in His hands (Psalm 31:15). He loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).