For those of us who aren’t athletically inclined, gym class was often a miserable time in school. What a daunting feeling, as captains picked their dodge ball or field hockey teams. Time and again we were passed over, until almost everyone else was chosen. It was obvious we didn’t measure up to what the leader was looking for.
Sadly, some people tend to see God in a similar way—as someone who looks at us with His incredible gift of forgiveness, then determines that we don’t quite measure up to His standards. Thankfully, that perception couldn’t be further from the truth. John 3:16 promises that:
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.God takes great joy in offering forgiveness to every person. He gives no thought to how we might “measure up”; He’s only interested in our response.
Have you accepted His invitation to join in a relationship with Him that will change your life and last for all eternity? He’s calling your name today.
Why do you think some people struggle to accept that God’s promise of forgiveness and new life applies to them?
How will knowing that you’ve received God’s full forgiveness impact the way you view God? The way you view yourself? How will it impact they way you live your life ?
Hello! This is my first experience with a blog, so I hope my reflections to the questions answered make some sort of sense.
ReplyDeleteLet me first start off by thanking the LWF family for welcoming me into their lives this past Sunday, it was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to see what this journey has in store for me! Back to the blog, I can personally attest to this struggle of understanding, accepting and believing God’s promise of new life and undeniable forgiveness. This is a very earthly matter that has the ability to affect every single believer on this planet. I know, and will gladly admit, that I am not perfect. I have made many mistakes in my life and I am well aware that I am a sinner undeserving of Christ’s love. The love of Christ and the promise he has made with us is by far the most vast and measureless concept we can ever come across. There is no human concept that can compare to this so as humans it is difficult to grasp the idea of unconditional love and the promise of new life, especially when that, for some, is a very rare emotion they experience. But as it says in 2nd Corinthians: “we live by faith, not by sight”. So as children of God, we need to believe in his word and trust in the Lord completely. When we achieve this immense level of love with Christ, then and only then can we entirely comprehend our relationship with God and his promise! Once we get to this point in our relationship with Christ, we can begin to see the changes in our lives. I believe that once this occurs the entire perception on life changes. We will no longer be afraid to share the Gospel every moment we get, we would begin to see all the good God has put on this earth. We would be able to not only fully accept ourselves, but also everyone we come in contact with. And once we understand that promise of His, we can share it with the world and help to change the life of another struggler!
its such a simple truth that the enemy tries to steal away from us. when we feel most unworthy is exactly when we should be coming to God.
ReplyDeleteLast night during our family devotion. My 9yr old son answered the question "Why do you think some people struggle to accept that God’s promise of forgiveness and new life applies to them?"
ReplyDeleteHe said "people think they are going to miss out if they do" then he said "but the only thing they miss out on is getting in lots of trouble"
I love it.. Simply put .. when we walk in His forgiveness we don't worry about getting in trouble..
All what was said is truth - bluntly put, we need to get over the "You owe me's" we carry in life and realize we deserve nothing. This thing called life is so much bigger than us and for this unbelievably amazing benefit that's indescribable, but plainly put best as FREEDOM! But if we never get past the US, we'll never get to live fully in JES-US! This goes for sinner and Christian alike!!!
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