How Many Times?

Tom Barnard

 

“Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind,

had settled on us as the focus of his love.”

Ephesians 1:5 The Message

 

“Because thy steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise thee.”

Psalm 63:3 RSV

 

Bob Dylan wrote the lyrics; Joan Baez made it a hit. The song was entitled, “Blowin’ in the Wind.” It was popular about the time Peter, Paul, and Mary sang their fabulously popular songs of protest and faith across America. The second stanza of the song goes like this:

 

How many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand?

How many times must the cannonballs fly before they are forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,

The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

 

The message Dylan’s song sends is this: There are no answers to these questions. No one knows. It’s like blowin’ in the wind. I have another question: How many times does God need to show us he loves us, before we believe him? And don’t tell me that there is no answer to the question. The answer is found in almost every chapter in the Bible. The psalmist understood the question. So did St. Paul. They asked and answered the question. Long before God created the world, he had us in mind. If we don’t believe that, we are the losers.

 

God’s love for us is not only steadfast, it is unconditional. We may change our minds about him, but he will never change his mind about us. He “settled on us as the focus of his love” before anything that was created was created. Think of that! Believe it! And be thankful!

 

Gracious and loving Father, accept my praise today. I am blessed that you not only know me by name, but that you love me wherever I find myself in life. When I cry out to you from where I have crashed and burned, you breathe new life into me. Even when I feel that my prayers are falling short of your ears, you are listening…and loving. How can I not thank you and praise you? You are my very life…my past…my present…my eternal future. I rest in you. Amen.