the ruminations of aaron eberline

Lord,

Open these eyes to see your glory. I sit in the torrent of life and I feel beaten and bruised by all the concerns of life. Oh how easy it is to get consumed with the swirling waters around me and not focus on you. Open my heart, mind, and soul as I read Leviticus 17 and 18 today Lord. I need your help to heal my heart. I submit to you now and forever, Amen.

Throughout Leviticus I am constantly reminded about how inadequate humanity is inherently. In chapter 17 God commands the people of Israel to stop sacrificing animals to other gods like the people of Egypt. People needed to bring their offering to the tabernacle to sacrifice to God as a peace offering. In chapter 18 God restates some of the 10 commandments in greater detail regarding how people can relate to each other. After reading these two chapters I feel saddened and a little depressed. I look at the Israelites and I see a picture of myself. The methods, customs and times have changed but I am living in my own Egypt. What I mean by this is that I am living in a fast food, sex saturated, and evil world where I am routinely told in my face and subtlety to give in to the desires of human passion and live life as the natives do. In Leviticus when God makes these commands for the people of Israel I imagine that there are quite a few people who are living in the midst of these sins that God is calling people out on. There is a crisis moment that each of these people had to address where the choice to turn to or away from God was made. That same crisis moment is faced by everyone today. Do I trust God or myself? I am so thankful that God loved me enough to sweetly draw me in to fellowship with Him.

What does it mean when I find myself becoming weary along my journey with God? Why does it happen? Thankfully the truth that I am unable to lose my relationship with God. The story that Paul unfolds throughout Romans lifts us up upon the truth that we are helpless apart from God and the crescendo culminates in this wonderful truth.

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord

Romans 8:37-39 NASB

Such amazing power, assurance, and peace is contained in these 3 verses! My death or life will not separate me from my God. Angels or demons cannot separate me from my God. No government can separate me from my God. The happenings of today or tomorrow will never separate me from my God. There exists no power that will separate me from my God. My highs and lows in life will not separate me from my God. Just to make it clear nothing that has or will ever be created by God will separate me from Him. Why is that? Jesus Christ, the Expression of God’s Love, paid the penalty for my sin. Jesus’ payment means I can live in free fellowship with God. Can you say today that you can live a life of freedom in Christ?