MEANS: The amount or number of a
material or immaterial thing not usually estimated by spatial measurement.; a
certain, usually specified, amount or number of something.
FROM: Middle English: from Old French quantite, from Latin quantitas (translating Greek posotēs), from quantus ‘how great, how much.’
BIBLE VERSE: "Throw the net in on the
right hand side," He said, "and you will find fish." So they
threw the net in, and now they could scarcely drag it along for the quantity of fish". John 21:6
(also Luke 5:6)
THOUGHTS: The
word quantity comes from a root
meaning ‘how great or how much’. The quantity of God’s love is certainly
greater than we can imagine. In more than one instance this love and care is demonstrated to
the disciples in Jesus’ directions about where to fish. When they obeyed him,
they were amazed at the quantity of
the catch.
Shakespeare says ‘the quality of mercy is not strained’, but
I think we could equally say the ‘quantity of mercy is unending’. The amount of
grace, mercy, and love from God doesn’t end. It can be easy to fall into the
cultural trap of trying to measure ‘how much’ Love God has for me, or for you,
or for the person you dislike, or the murderer, or the terrorist. God doesn’t
weight out Love-it just is and goes on and on!
PRAYER: Father
God, there is no end to your Love. Too often I try to measure it and set a
quantity on it. Instead, help me to rest in the knowledge that you are always
beside me.
MEANS: depend on
with full trust or confidence.
FROM: Middle English: from Old French relier-‘bind together,’ from Latin religare, from re-(expressing intensive force) + ligare-‘bind.’
BIBLE VERSE:
Commit thy
way unto Jehovah, and rely upon
him: he will bring it to pass;
Psalms 37:5
Psalms 37:5
THOUGHTS: The
word rely meant to ‘depend on’ and
comes from words meaning to ‘bind together’. For me, this makes me reconsider
what I mean when I say ‘I rely on God’… To rely on God is to trust God. More than that, it is tightly binding me to the One who loves me.
If I am binding myself to the Creator
of the Universe, it will be a much deeper assurance than when I rely on a friend or
computer or car. All of those can fail, but God binds God to us when we rely on
God! Amazing thought.
PRAYER: Help me
to rely on you, remembering that you bind me to yourself with ropes of Love and
will never fail.
SCRAPBOOK PROMPTS:
Does the idea that when you rely on God, you are binding
yourself to God change your concept of relying on or trusting God?
You might find an image that shows how you would express the
quantity of God’s love, or how you rely on God.
