12/27/2020
Do we think that we come to know Jesus because of some accident, or happenstance? Perhaps we think that we sought Him out, and that it was by our own doing, and will, but none of these are true... we come to Him by divine providence. We know Him because God first loved us and has a perfect plan for our lives. We are given into the Hands of Jesus to be redeemed, and made righteous.
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
John 6:37-38 ESV
When I was a boy, and even now, I liked to hear my mother tell how much she has loved me, and to recount the wonderful times of my childhood that she cherishes. I can remember those moments by myself, but to hear her tell them is especially gratifying. Oh, I pretend to want her to stop, but it really does please me, and I hear the love in her voice as she goes on. In all truth none of those things would have been possible without my parents; without my mother having given me birth, and without them both nourishing me, and then having taught me how to be a good boy, adolescent, teen, and finally preparing me to be the man of faith that I am. Likewise God prepares each of us. He gives us to Jesus to redeem, and sends His Holy Spirit to continue His work even further; all the while He awaits our return home to Him... perfected, and Christlike.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV
Some argue that their parents were terrible, unloving, and did them more harm than good, or were nonexistent in their lives, but if they are honest with themselves they will see that even in this bad, and often unlikely, way these people made them who they are today. God selects us while we are yet sinners... all of us... and then begins His work in us. None of us make ourselves righteous by our own efforts, and all of us have a catalyst in our lives that lifts us from the sinner who we were to the faithful and righteous person who God desires us to be.
““If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”
Luke 14:26-28 ESV
Sometimes our catalyst of faith is a Diamond, sometimes coal, but occasionally it is glass, and hard to see. Yet all things work together to make us into the image of Christ if we will only allow God to have His way with us, Jesus to work in our lives, and the Holy Spirit to lead us.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
Romans 8:28-29 ESV
So in my case my parents were good, and led me to know God. Maybe yours were bad, and showed you what the absence of God looked like; which brought you to know Him. Or, maybe you were given birth and abandoned by your parents, or you lost them in some other way, and that sense of being alone has led you to Him by traveling a long and winding road. Whatever it was, God called out to you, and placed you in just the right set of circumstances, and with the perfect catalyst so that you are now hearing His voice. You have always been loved, and chosen to be His. As God’s faithful, you didn’t find Jesus... God chose you, and gave you to Him. The wonderful news is that Jesus will not abandon you, and will never lose you.
“While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
John 17:12-13 ESV
So, look back on your life, and ask yourself why you are here, and by what means you have come to know Jesus. Was it by the effort of loving parents, a terrible home life, being alone in the world, or was your journey mysterious, and by a way so twisted that it was often hard to tell where you were, or where you were going? However you came to Him, you were always expected, the door open, and a place was waiting for you at God’s table. All the while you were traveling, our Father was watching, and when you arrive home He will be telling everyone how much He loves you, of all the hardships you overcame along the way, and of every triumph of faith in which He looked down on you in pleasure. You will have indeed become the likeness of Christ.
“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.””
Matthew 3:16-17 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the gift of salvation that you have given me. Thank you for giving me into the hands of Jesus, and leading me by your Holy Spirit down the path of life that you so carefully selected for me to travel. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who has known me from the foundation of creation, and made a way for me to be given into the hands of Christ where I am being purified for you. Praised be your name for every hardship I have encountered, and for teaching me to know you in new ways as I have overcome them with your help. Merciful are you Lord for calling me, and not letting me fall to the wayside, or upon the battlefield of faith. The armor you have provided me by your your grace is serving me well, and yet you protect me further with your strong right hand in all my battles. Hear my prayers Father, and show me your will so that I can pray them as I should, and receive your miracles, and blessings through them. Most of all hear me as I pray for salvation, faith, and righteousness, so that by the purifying blood of Jesus I will be made worthy to live in your house and presence forevermore... listening to you tell of your love for me, and mine for you.
Rich Forbes