Daily Word of Grace # 174 (November 13, 2020)
In the fall of 1995 my young family lived in Sheridan, Wyoming. On a beautiful late September day we drove west nearly four hours to Yellowstone National Park. We stopped at the big entrance sign and took a photo, and then excitedly drove to into the park….only to learn at the gate that the park was closed that day. We turned around and headed home, although we stopped for a wonderful picnic in Cody. Eight months later in May, 1996 we drove there again, and thankfully it was open. The most famous of the nearly 500 geysers at Yellowstone is Old Faithful, which erupts every hour or two. We saw Old Faithful erupt and it was amazing. Scripture assures us that “God is faithful” (1 Corinthians 1:9), which is good news because people are often fickle. On Good Friday God’s faithful love erupted when Jesus died on the cross for our sins and afterwards a soldier pierced his side and “at once blood and water came out” (John 19:34). Along these lines the poet and hymnodist William Cowper (1731 – 1800) wrote: “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins; And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.” Yes, this is graphic imagery, but our sins are even more graphic. Thankfully the gospel assures us that the blood of Jesus is enough to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God’s faithful love never changes…and the park where you can freely receive God’s forgiveness is always open.
Love and Prayers,
Dave