tapestry threads

Psalm 64:9, "All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what He has done."

My friend is a new Christian.  She has recently accepted Christ as her Savior because of the obedience of a wonderful sister and friend who had the courage to go talk to her in her sickness and make sure she knew Jesus.  Her husband bought her her first Bible and she had questions as she learned about the Lord of her life.  

She began reading in the Old Testament and had questions about all the blood and violence she read about and tried to understand how this loving God was Lord over that, too.

In a strange way, this verse may seem dark.  But I see light and gratitude in it.  First, I had to understand fearing the Lord.  To fear Him means to stand in awe of the character of God.  And to stand in awe of it, one must fully understand the completeness.  I remember one story when the Levites were carrying the ark of the covenant and someone stumbled and another reached out as to catch it.  He was struck dead on the spot by God.  It blew my mind...like HUGE overreaction.  But, I had yet to understand the COMPLETE PERFECTNESS of God.  His standard is perfection.  And before Christ came, when they failed to follow His commands...the were punished.  And when enemies came against God's anointed, they were annihilated...evil had to be wiped out. 

BUT it is BECAUSE God loves so completely as well.  Evil will be overtaken and when the time comes...we will ALL ponder His works because we only understand partially now, but will understand completely then.  (1 Corinthians 13:12).  I want to understand the tapesty and see it from the front side and see how beautiful and glorious it is because only a Sovereign and loving God could create its beauty.