I went out for my morning walk today while it was still dark. As I was walking down the road I could see headlights coming up from behind me and then right in front of me a little bunny darted past me and ran into the street. My first thought was “Oh no! Run bunny, run!” I was rooting for the bunny. I didn’t want to see him get smeared by the oncoming car. Then I thought, why should I care what happens to that bunny. I did not create that bunny. I don’t love that bunny, and yet I still feel compassion for him. I might feel different if it was a rat or a snake!
An evolutionist would have no answer to the question of why should we care about the bunny, because to an evolutionist, there is no God, life evolved from the slime by chance, life on earth is ultimately meaningless, and only the fittest will survive to pass on their genes. An evolutionist would say that if the bunny dies it is because it is too stupid not to wait for the car to pass, and now he will not pass his stupid gene onto other bunnies, resulting in only smart bunnies surviving. That’s a very clinical way to look at the situation, but only the most hardened evolutionist would root against or be indifferent to the bunny. Why? Because we are ALL made in the image of God and God has given us hearts like His, hearts of compassion.
Now if that is true about our relationship to a bunny, imagine how God feels about us. God created us. God loves us. God sent His Son to die for us to pay the penalty that we deserved for our sins so that we can be with him in heaven. Of course God is rooting for us a million times more than I was rooting for that bunny. Romans 8:31-32: “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Isn't it a glorious thing to know that God is for you? God is rooting for you! He is not indifferent to you. He is not, as a deist might say, a God who created the world and then left it to its own devices. He wants intimacy with the world and the people He created. He loves you and He wants you to be encouraged. He wants you to be of good cheer. Christ the Savior is born! I know that this time of year can be a discouraging time for many who are hurting, or lonely, or dealing with loss. A friend of mine gave me a great quote yesterday. He said “discouragement never comes from God.” And of course that’s true.
Discouragement is a weapon that the enemy uses to hold us down, to keep our eyes and thoughts on ourselves so that we will not worship God. God wants us to be encouraged. John 14:1: Do not let your hearts be troubled…Believe in God, believe also in me. John 16:33: I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. Romans 15:4: “Through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
Think of people you know who may not have that joy and offer them some encouragement today!
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