Jeremiah 9:24(NLT) tells us, “But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things.” This verse is beyond beautiful! It sums up our entire existence. Our Heavenly Father never needs to boast because He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the Great I Am, and there is no other like Him. Everything that exists was created by Him, and He created everything for His glory. God is sheer perfection, and He has all power, so He never needs to puff Himself up. Even though He created us, and we belong to Him, many of us behave as if we are the greatest thing since sliced bread. We brag on our intelligence and on the material things we’ve acquired. God makes it clear to us in Jeremiah 9:24 that none of those things matter. Knowing God and understanding who He is and how He loves is our greatest treasure, and it is what we should be bragging about.

God wants us to know Him. He has given us His Word so that we will know the truth and live the truth through Jesus Christ. There are many people that will tell you they have a personal relationship with God, but they do not talk to Him often. They may practice a few religious rituals here and there, but their hearts are far from Him. One of the reasons for this is because they don’t know how much God desires an intimate connection with them. In Mark 12:30, Jesus Christ teaches us what God requires of us. He tells us that we must love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are to love God with all that we are. We belong to Him already, but He will not force us to love Him. It’s our choice and loving Him is the best choice that any person can make.

Through the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross for our sins, God has made us righteous, and He has washed away our sins forever. Because of what God accomplished through Jesus Christ, we can live an eternity with Him. And make no mistake, an eternity is how long it will take to know Him and to understand the infinite depth and breadth of His love.

Going back to Jeremiah 9:24, God tells us that He demonstrates unfailing love, and He brings justice and righteousness to the earth. He tells us that He delights in these things. He also delights in our faith and tells us in Hebrew 11:6 that we can’t please Him without it. God loves things that are good, excellent, lovely, holy and righteous. He wants us to know that these are the treasures of His heart so that we will understand that He is the One true God. Our Heavenly Father never lies, never changes, and is always and forever faithful to His promises. We can trust Him with all that we are, because He is worthy and deserving of our faith and trust. Hebrews 13:5(NLT) tells us that He will never leave or forsake us.

God has done everything to show us His amazing grace and love, but many people will not trust in Him because they will not believe His Word. Believing and trusting God’s Word is how we demonstrate our gratitude to Him for all He’s done for us. It’s how we grow closer to Him and this is what He desires. Look at all that He has created. Look at the sun, moon, stars, and all of nature. The wonders of the world are vast and unyielding in their beauty. All this, our God has done, and given to us as a habitation. This is who He is. Knowing that we would not be the best stewards of the earth, knowing that we would not have hearts swelled to overflowing with gratefulness, and knowing that so few would choose love over hate, God still blessed us and gave us eternal life through Christ. He still longs for us to know Him, and to share fellowship with Him. What a wonderful God He is!

Our Heavenly Father will forever be the most extraordinarily wonderful, exquisite, sovereign, all-powerful, all-knowing and divine being in all eternity. He loves to share Himself with us. Ephesians 5:8(NLT) tells us, “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!” This is where our joy is made complete, by basking in the love the Father has for us and walking in that love and power every moment of each day. Without God causing us to shine from the inside out, we have nothing, absolutely nothing, to brag about. He is the One who transforms us into the glorious image of Christ, and our faith must be firmly planted in this.

With each day, we have the awesome opportunity and privilege to be more like God’s precious and powerful Son. Many people today are unhappy and miserable. They don’t know who they are or why they were put here on this earth. They feel empty inside and feel that people, places, and things can fill them up, because this is what the world sells. It’s because the devil knows that if he can get us to concentrate on anxiety, insecurity, and other kinds defeatist and self-indulgent things, we will not cling to God as we should. We must wake up and recognize this trick for what it is.

Our call is to be God’s powerful and loving children who live through Jesus Christ. He tells us in Philippians 2:15-16 that we must shine as lights in the world and hold firmly to the Word of life. We represent Christ in the earth, and God is in us! Jesus won the victory for us on the Cross of Calvary, and God has called us to live through and in this victory with every breath we take. He’s given victory to us and wants us to feel, think, and speak the reality of our victory in faith! 2Corinthians 1:21-22(NLT) declares, “It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.” The time has come for us to wake up. We must stand firm for Christ through our faith, and shine brightly as our confidence in God’s love draws us closer and closer to Him.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Shine Bright As God’s Loving and Powerful Children”, written for 4theChristianMan.com© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.