Revel in imparted righteousness
Spurgeon's Morning and Evening today is from Jeremiah 23:6.
Again with these reflections, I"m not an OT scholar and I don't know, or didn't do a lot of search on, the context of the passage. This isn't educational, this if a reflection on what God brings to mind through his Word and my time with him, not teaching about the historical context of where the words in Jeremiah 23 actually affect the story
Jeremiah 23:6
In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
The Lord is our righteousness
There's a lot of tension in the details of the story of the world in how humans and God relate to each other. On one hand, God created everything, and he created humans with a unique purpose to be his seen-imagers in the physical world who carry out his will. On the other hand, humans take that position of privilege and often destroy the world in our sin and dismay. The theology surrounding this tension is the thing that can affect the Christian's daily life... As I walk through the world, am I more aware of my position as God's child, with responsibility to bear his Name and steward the earth, or am I more aware of my sin and the fact that I often make choices Jesus wouldn't be proud of? Both things are true, but where I put my mind and heart drives if I have a contented smile on my face or if my brow is sweaty and scunched up in frustration.
I think that if we somehow filtered our view to all "true Christians" we'd see that a majority of them lean in on emphasizing their sin because it is the thing that makes Jesus' work necessary - it is the un-overcomable thing that we have to be saved from and Glory to God! for saving us. But on the daily, not putting equal emphasis on the next step of the story, which is that in God's saving he imparts the righteousness of Jesus right onto us, is a disservice to us as God's children.
I want my kids to be proud and secure in their name and place as my kids. I don't want them to spend their energy focusing on where they have contributed chaos and disorder to my life, I want them to focus on the things they do worth being proud of, and there's grace for the rest. I think this must be true of the Lord as well - without a doubt I am a sinner and a wretch who, left to my own devices, would end up a drunken addict lying in the street somewhere... but why would I focus on that when Yahweh chooses me, imparts Jesus' righteousness to me, adopts me as his own! The reality of my sin is reality, but the reality of Jesus' grace on my life is no less true. Christians shouldn't be ignorant of the sin they carry and the choices they make which dishonor God, but we also shouldn't be ignorant of the grace God shows to us!
I have noticed in my life, as the scales have tipped somewhat in favor of focusing more on Yahweh adopting me as opposed to focusing on where I fall short of the glory of God, that's it's more natural for me to be joyful about almost anything in the world (worth experiencing joy over)
May Jesus call you today if you're reading this and he hasnt' yet, and if he has may joy follow your acknowledgement of your adoption rather than sorrow over your previous state. Glory to God in the highest!