Reparation

Reparation: compensation, making amends

This is a word that has been running through my brain all day long. It came from reading Isaiah 40 today. Now, that word is not directly used in that passage, but that is the major impression that I got and I can't stop thinking about it.

Our God is a God of reparation. Both good and bad. He promises reparation for our sin and for our faith. He sent his Son to make amends for our sin. He paid the price we should pay. He also tells us that our faith will also be rewarded, compensated.


1 Samuel 26:23The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. The LORD delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the LORD's anointed.

Proverbs 14:14The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good man rewarded for his.

Isaiah 61:8"For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.

Hebrews 11:6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

I am thankful that I serve a God who is rewarding to those who earnestly seek Him. I am thankful that a good man is rewarded. I am thankful that my God makes an ever lasting covenant for those who are just. I am thankful that Jesus paid the price for my sins, but I also want to make sure that I am faithful, that I am just, that I am good, and that I earnestly seek Him.

Things have been difficult in the lives of so many around us. People at work cringe when their phones ring, wondering if their husbands are calling to tell them they have been laid off. Health issues, infertility, loss, death, money problems, plagues (have you heard of the swine flu?), earthquakes, tornadoes, and the list goes on and on and on; these are the things that we Christians face every day. Can you imagine facing those things and not having Christ in your life? Can you imagine going to bed at night, and just staring at the ceiling without hope. Can you imagine not praying? Can you imagine not knowing a God that you know hears you, loves you, is with you every moment of every day, and promises to one day dry the all tears from your eyes?

I can't believe that I haven't done more to share Jesus to those without Him. I can't believe I have been so selfish that I use God for myself and don't tell everyone I meet about Him. I can't believe that I don't do more. I can't believe that there are people in the world who are killed for their faith, and I don't even share mine, in a country where I am free to do so.

I know this blog doesn't make much sense tonight. But it does to me. It is all the things that I am feeling and thinking. The thoughts are just pouring off my quickly typing fingers onto the computer screen. I don't even know what made me decide to blog tonight. It has been nearly a month since I even logged on. I have just been so busy with myself, and my agenda that I haven't even thought about sharing my thoughts and feelings.

I just feel like I have been holding my breath. For months. For years. Holding onto something, afraid to let go because it might all fall apart. I am breathing deep tonight. God is an amazing God. He has blessed me beyond measure. He has saved me. He saved me from myself. He saved me for eternity. I owe Him my life. I should die as compensation for my sin. Jesus saved me. I owe Him my life. I need to start living like it. Reparation. Repayment. I owe and now it is time to pay up!