FROM THE PULPIT: A HAPPY SURPRISE

My uncle went to a Royals ballgame with me when I was a teen-ager. As many teen-agers, then and now, I had a powerful stereo in my car, which I played music on, loud and fast. (My music was loud and fast, my car wasn't -- it was a Datsun 710!). But for riding with my uncle, who taught music and voice at a major university, I brought along tapes such as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. As we were driving along, Uncle Bob heard faintly the symphony being played. He quickly reached over to the stereo, turned it up to full volume while exclaiming, "Turn it up so we can hear it!" That symphony was on even loud enough to hurt my concert-going ears -- and I loved it! That was a happy surprise.

God is full of happy surprises. Far from being the spiritual killjoy we often imagine Him to be, God very often fills our lives with great happiness and wonderful surprises. "You have made me glad," chortles the temple-goer in Psalms (9:2, 16:9, 92:4, 118:24, others). "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, etc." (Galatians 5:22-23) When the Lord Jesus attended a wedding in Cana where the wine ran out -- He produced plenty for all! (John 2:1-11) A happy surprise indeed!

But the greatest surprise of all is that the Lord our God loves each and every one of us. He who knows every star by name and assigns them their places, also knows and loves every one of us. "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." (John 3:16) "God wants all people to be saved and to come to know the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4) Not only does this God love us so, He became the means of our salvation. For even though "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23) "God made Him who knew not sin (Jesus) to become sin for us, that in Him (Christ) we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Yes, God knows you and God loves you, no matter who you are. Such a happy surprise! Receive His love. Accept His gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.