God's Passion is for you
Jesus had a choice. He could have
stayed in the carpentry shop. He could have kept His mouth shut.
He could have ignored the call or at least postponed it. He could have
come back as a man in another era when people would listen better.
He could have come back when crosses were out of style. But His
heart wouldn’t let Him. If there was hesitation on the part of His
humanity, it was overcome by the compassion of His divinity.
His divinity heard the voices.
His divinity heard the hopeless cries of the poor, the bitter accusations
of the abandoned, the dangling despair of those who are trying to save
themselves. And His divinity saw the faces. Some wrinkled.
Some weeping. Some hidden behind veils. Some obscured by fear.
Some earnest with searching. Some blank with boredom. From the
face of Adam to the face of the infant born somewhere in the world as you
read these words, He saw them all.
And you can be sure of one thing. Among the voices that
found their way into that carpentry shop was your voice.
Your silent
prayers uttered on tearstained pillows were heard before they were said.
Your deepest questions about death and eternity were answered before they
were asked. And your direst need, your need for a Savior, was met before
you ever sinned. And not only did He hear you, He saw you. He saw your
face aglow the hour you first knew Him. He saw your face in shame the
hour you first fell.
The same face that looked back at you from this
morning’s mirror, looked at Him. And it was enough to kill Him. He left
because of you. He laid His security down with His hammer. He hung
tranquility on the peg with His nail apron. He closed the window shutters
on the sunshine of His youth and locked the door on the comfort and ease
of anonymity. Since He could bear your sins more easily than He could
bear the thought of your hopelessness, He chose to leave. It wasn’t
easy. Leaving the carpentry shop never has been.
(max lucado)
“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not
My will, but Yours, be done”
God’s answer to Jesus was to drink of that cup, for there was no other
payment for our sins.
Buddha didn’t pay it, a
vague god of the universe can’t circumvent it. Jesus said, “I am the
way, the truth and the life; no one can come to the Father except through
Me.” You see, God loves you, but before that He is holy and He
cannot mix with sin. It’s as though your dad is a judge and you are
brought before him, guilty of a speeding ticket. You think you’ve
got it beat, dad won’t convict you, he loves you. But the judge
proclaims you guilty for he is just. And then he reaches in his back
pocket, pulls out his wallet and pays your fine himself. You have a
choice. You can refuse your Father’s loving payment and suffer the
consequences, but the fine for our sins is death. Jesus already paid
that price but you have to accept it. The choice is yours, and all
eternity is riding on your decision.
So many will not accept
that we sin. Haven’t you ever been angry when someone cuts you off on the
freeway? Did you react? That reaction is not the nature of God. The
standard is not man’s nature, but God’s. And the Bible says we ALL fall
short, there is none that is righteous, no not one. God doesn’t want us
walking around in shame, He wants to forgive us and help us become who He
created us to be by His Spirit. All we have to do is come as we are,
accept Him and turn from our sins. He knows we will fail at times, but to
press on. Jesus is faithful to wash away sins that we may be righteous
and holy. The Apostles knew this, and they would not have gone on to
suffer and die painful deaths for a lie.
God's passion is truly for you.
Are you willing to turn
your life completely over to Him? If you are, pray this prayer
“Dear Father, I know I have sinned. I believe Jesus died for me.
I ask for Your forgiveness right now. I choose to turn from my
rebellion against You. Jesus, please come into my heart and take
over my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to serve
You. In Jesus’ name I pray.”
See also Christian Encouragement
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