GOD'S CONTINUOUS ACTS OF GRACE

BIBLE PORTION 
Zepaniah 3:14-20
INTRODUCTION:
A new year is an ideal moment to support innovative concepts and ambitious projects. We fervently hope that God's grace will grant us success in those endeavors. Zepaniah describes how God showered his love on the people of Judah, who are his chosen people, in the passage from the Old Testament that was requested to be read.

Zephaniah was a prophet who preached during the reign of King Josiah of Judah. His rule lasted between 640 and 609 BC. In those days, the prophet Zephaniah urged the people of Judah to repent. However, the people of Judah rejected the call. So, in 605 BC, Babylon besieged Judah and looted the Temple's riches in Jerusalem. This was a warning issued to the people of Judah. However, the people of Judah did not repent. So in 586 BC, they were carried as slaves to Babylon. Zephaniah predicts all of these punishments. He foretells the punishments, but also delivers words that provide hope to those who believe in God that His mercy will endure. Those are the words of Zephaniah recorded in Zepaniah 3:14-20. This triptych demonstrates how God continues to pour His love on the chosen people, no matter how disobedient they are.

God continues to pour his mercy on the human race via Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and many more people, and he does not forget the covenant he made with us. Perhaps humanity forget God's commandments and covenants, and thus forget God. But God remembers His covenant with human and continues to bless them with grace. Such continual acts of God can be reflected on in this new year as well. So let's meditate on how God's mercy will continue in this New year.

1.MERCY THAT AVERTS DESTRUCTION:
God's grace is grace that prevents our impending or imminent destruction. He is shielding us from the various destructions that have occurred in the last year 2023. In particular, he is protecting us from natural disasters such as rain and flooding in December 2023. Many times when we encounter peril, we can declare, "God saved me." However, God's kindness allows us to pass those perils without encountering them. At certain moments, we don't even think about God

This is what the prophet Zephaniah tells the Judahites. You are doomed because of the evil you are committing. If you repent, God will take the destruction from you. However, the people of Judah did not answer the call. If God delays the disaster that is coming to us, it is not because we are righteous or good, but due to His grace. God's promise to "see no more harm" does not mean we are virtuous. It is a continuing expression of God's grace.

It is not because I am good; it is God's kindness that allows us to see this new year, says Jesus Christ, citing two historical incidents in Luke 13:2,4. In Luke 13:2, Matthew wonders if all of the Galileans were righteous than the Galileans executed by Pilate. And, according to Luke 13:4, were all the other people in Jerusalem are righteous besides the 18 who died when the tower fell in Siloam? Certainly not. God asks us the same question in this new year. Are we more righteous than all those who perished in war, floods, natural disasters, Manipur riots, and Tuticorin shootings? No. So, why do we see this new year? Because it is an expression of God's ongoing grace. A single natural disaster can wipe off all people without mercy. However, God, who upholds the covenant, has showed mercy this year by delaying those destructions so that the we do not die.

2.MERCY THAT AVERTS THE ENEMIES OF DESTRUCTION:
Enemies can be thought of as neighbors, business competitors, or those who frequently disagree with us. Others may go a step further and believe that Pakistanis are the enemy. However, such beliefs have the tendency to make even our neighbors, who assist us in times of peril, see them as adversaries

Even the people of Judah may have considered Babylon as an enemy. But Zephaniah makes it clear who the enemy is, in chapter 3:1-13. Babylon enslaved the people of Judah because they did things that displeased God. If that is true, then the real enemy of the Jews is the evil thoughts and actions of them. The real enemies of the Jews are riots, oppression of the people, disobedience to God, wolf judges, harassment of the saints, etc. So who is our enemy? Our enemy is nothing but our bad actions and thoughts. Jesus Christ also developed this point in the parable of the fig tree mentioned in Luke 13: 6-9. There is no error of the ruler, there is no error of the servant, but there is error in the name of the fig tree. Even after the fig tree had done everything it asked, the fig tree did not bear fruit. If this is true, then the fault lies with us, the fig tree. Yes we are the fig trees. Our evil thoughts and actions are our enemies. God's mercy works so that such enemies will not destroy us. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross protects us from the evil thoughts of the enemy. It is an expression of mercy, to welcome the new year by protecting it in this way.

3.A GRACE THAT GIVES NEW LIFE:
God's grace can also give us new life in this new year. When the prophet Zephaniah spoke about the people of Judah, God said that when you leave your mischievous and come to God, God will give you a new life. A new life is a new beginning. The Lord says: “You will have a new beginning by God’s grace.” Luke 13:6-9 In the parable of the fig tree, it is said that the gardener is the one who plants and fertilizes the fig tree, which is a new beginning for the fig tree.

Let me tell you an incident. Eagles are the only birds whose lifespan reaches 70 years. If the eagle wants to live to 70, it needs to transform itself in 40s. At the age of 40, its units become deformed, making it unable to catch and eat meat. Also, its wings become thick and heavy, making it difficult to fly. At this time, the eagle will fly to the mountains and hit the rocks with its wings and break its wings. As the young creature grows, it plucks its feathers. The new feathers are starting to sprout. From here, the eagle begins a new journey. The eagle leaves all the old stuffs and flies like a young bird.

CONCLUSION
Dear friends in Christ, God also gives us a fresh start in the new year. Let's also throw away our old evil thoughts and start again with a fresh start. May God bless you. Amen šŸ™

©2024, I. Ananda Balakrishnan 

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