August 20, 2005

Love Rejoices With the Truth (1)

1 Cor. 13:6; Colossians 1:15-23

“God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and…to reconcile to himself all things…”

—  Colossians 1:19-20

Love does not delight in evil. Evil is anything that spoils, corrupts, pollutes, disables, destroys God’s good creation. On the sixth day of creation “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). There was no trace of evil—evil has no right to exist in this universe.

When Adam and Eve listened to the devil and sinned against God, evil began to have its destructive way throughout the creation. As a result of their sin, every human being is born with a tendency to delight in evil. For example, we are delighted when an enemy’s reputation is ruined, or when we discover that someone we envy is having marital problems. We make fun of people with mental and physical disabilities. We delight in bad news and demeaning “jokes” concerning people who are of a different class, race, ethnicity, religious faith.

But God’s love poured into our heart moves us to rejoice with the truth that God is reclaiming and restoring his good creation through his Son. “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things…by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” We rejoice with the truth that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Father, I confess that too often I have delighted in evil. Forgive me. By your Spirit move me to hate what is evil and to rejoice with the truth. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

About the author — Richard E. Williams

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