God is graciously patient. He keeps the earth spinning. God gives us the seasons. God gives us grace every single day. May we not presume upon His grace. May we not be lulled into complacency. His bow in the sky brings amazing comfort to the Christian heart. His bow in the sky must not lull us into presuming upon His grace. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 

“It is a bow, but it is directed upwards, not towards the earth; for the seals of the covenant were intended to comfort, not to terrify.” – Matthew Henry

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:11

The Sign of God’s Gracious Patience

In a sermon at presbytery we were reminded of Henry’s words above. God could have pointed the bow toward heaven as a continual threat. The Lord of the heavens could have given us terror every time the clouds formed. Our lives could have been lived in constant terror that God would again destroy. But, he didn’t. God gave creation a sign of his gracious patience.

The Danger of Presuming Upon Grace

Here’s the rub though. We by human nature like to presume upon grace. We live as if our daily bread is guaranteed. We go to the store assuming there will be produce. We presume the world will continue to wobble on its axis giving us seasons. We presume the cosmic order will remain the same. We presume the seed time and harvest time will come in their intervals. The modern mind makes the presumption that what we experience historically will continue to be historically true. Nothing new here. Just carry on with business as usual. We presume.

From Presumption to Complacency

Presumption naturally leads to complacency. I presume my wife will always be loyal and committed to our marriage so I can take her for granted. I presume my children will grow up well so I can become complacent in my parenting. I presume the church will remain healthy so I can become complacent in shepherding. I presume God saved me so I can become complacent in piety.

This presumption and complacency can dull us to both amazing beauty and signs of danger.

The Beauty of God’s Promises: A Lesson from Hawaii

When my wife and I were courting she lived in Hawaii. When I went to visit her one week I was awe struck. Not by her – she was and is beautiful –

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