God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we are actually like when the lights are off and no one else is around. Despite all this, His loves is never ending...)
It's so comforting to see how badly people screwed up in the Bible, and how we see them as some of the holiest people because God always took them in. The charges God brings against Israel are seemingly endless, almost destroying His chosen people on occasion, but He always takes them back.
It reminds me of one of the best sermons I ever heard. The Gospel reading that week was the beginning of Mark, where Jesus saw fishermen, said "Follow me", and they dropped everything to follow Him. He said, "A lot of people think, 'I wish I was more like the Apostles!'. No, you don't!!! In the Gospel of Mark, when the Apostles initially meet Jesus, they drop everything to follow Him--and that is the last good thing they do in the entire book! Little children want to see Jesus, and the Apostles push them away. Peter's asked if he knows Jesus, and denies Him 3 times. Over and over again, we see how badly the Apostles screwed up--and yet, these men are the men God appointed to run the Church."
Right now, I'm reading the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. The setting for this book is Israel in exile (again), and God bringing charges against them for prostitution, favoring other Gods, worthless Gods, over their true God. Still, God loves them, and wants to bring them back to Jerusalem, and this book is where we get the oft-repeated verse, "'I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord. 'Plans for you to prosper & not to come to harm, plans to give you a hope & a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)
Praise be to our loving God!
