Have you ever considered that
salvation is not about you? It’s about God. The nature of God is love. Love in a way we cannot fully
comprehend. Somewhere lost in the noise
of our Christian babble, is this one inescapable fact: He loved us so much He
was willing to die for us. This all-consuming, sacrificing love is not unlike a
mother bear separated from her cubs. No
one is going to keep a mother bear from being reunited with her cubs, even if
it costs her life. That same kind of fierce protective love is what God feels
towards us. When He saw us threatened by the just consequences of our sin, eternal
separation from Him, He reacted as any mother bear would react; He placed
Himself between us and the threat, eternal damnation. He endured the full measure of the
penalty of sin, taking our punishment upon Himself, in our place.
That is why He sent Jesus
to die for our sins, that we might be safe and secure, held fast in His loving
arms.
Christians endlessly talk
of salvation and knowing God, but we rarely talk about how much God wants to
know us. Yes, we assume that because He
created us and is everywhere present and all-knowing, that He knows all about
us (sometimes more than we’d like) and He does. But, knowing all about someone is not the same
as being in love with them in a true, two-way relationship.
God very much wants to have
a profound intimate connection with you. He wants not just your bowed head and
prayers. He wants you, the essence of you, your thoughts, your desires, your hopes,
your dreams, your failures, and your despairs.
He wants to so totally love you that you will be filled with joy and
anticipation for each new day, as well as rescued from discouragement and disappointment as you walk with Him hand in hand forever.
He wants your heart, the
complete package. When we say someone “gave them their heart,” we mean they
gave all of themselves, holding nothing back, abandoning all caution, leaving
nothing in reserve.
We have the amazing
capacity to keep things hidden, inaccessible to others, always holding
something in reserve that only we can see. While God knows exactly what those things are,
whether they be fears, anxieties, or insecurities, He will not force you to
give them to Him. He wants you to open
yourself willingly, to give of everything you have because you love Him and
feel loved by Him in return.
Salvation is about God. It is about how much He loves you and wants
to know you in an experiential way, with nothing held back.
Copyright 2014 Kathy F. Sanders
(Personal use ok)
(Personal use ok)
No comments:
Post a Comment