07/22/2020
We are tempted to believe that it is by our own efforts we have come to know God, and Jesus Christ, but in fact we have been sought out. No, we didn’t invite that divine knock at our door, nor God’s call to us. We might believe that we stumbled upon the idea of God, or by some stroke of luck heard about Jesus Christ, but that is a deception we have concocted to serve our vanity. God calls us, woos us, receives us through Jesus Christ, and then guards us in our faith to be with Him in eternity.
“[you] who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1 Peter 1:5 ESV
The fastest land animal in North America is the Pronghorn Antelope. They can run at speeds of 55-60 miles per hour. There is nothing they have done which contributes to this ability, they are born to run. There is only one thing that can govern their speed, and that is a physical encumbrance like an injury, or birth defect. Outside of this, they are blazing fast, not of anything they have done themselves, but simply because they were created this way. We are created in similar fashion...
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27 ESV
We can’t run like a pronghorn; the best we can muster is perhaps 28 miles per hour, but just like the antelope was given great speed, we too were created with a gift... we were given a spirit, and soul. In other words, we were created by God, to be in His image. Neither we nor the pronghorn had any say in our creation, or our purpose on the earth... God is sovereign in this, and just as every pronghorn is born to run, we have been born to serve and glorify God. In this way, God protects the antelope by giving them the ability to outrun their predators, and He gives us the ability to achieve eternal life with Him by calling us to get up and run to Him in our faith...
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,”
2 Timothy 1:8-9 ESV
When a pronghorn injures itself by stepping into a gopher hole while running from wolves, then by the law of nature it is caught and devoured by its predators. We, on the other hand, mortally injured ourselves by disobeying God in the Garden of Eden, but something amazing happened... rather than God allowing our souls to be devoured by Satan, He sent His Son to redeem us, and heal the wound that our disobedience had inflicted. He calls us, heals us, and restores our eternal relationship with Him. In our creation, demise, and redemption we have been acted on by God, His mercy, and His grace.
“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
So, how is it that by our own doing we might have come to know God, and hear the knock of Jesus on our door? No way. How did we heal ourselves after receiving a wound that should have made us prey to Satan? No way. And how is it that we are able to secure our salvation throughout our lives by our own efforts? No way. Knowing these truths, are we ready to accept them, and humble ourselves before the Lord as we do so, or will we cling to our own devised lies, attempting to construct God in our image, and so doing become prey... just like the antelope?
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the design and construction you had in mind for man when you created us. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ to heal and redeem us, and for not abandoning us to Satan when we were lost and injured in our sin. Thank you for calling out to our spirits, and drawing us to you Lord. You stand ready to help us when we are poor in faith, and to strengthen our belief when the world attempts to convince us you don’t exist. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who created us in your image, and guides us righteously through life so that we can glorify you, and spend eternity in your house. We praise you Father for the knock of Jesus on our door. We sing “How great thou art”, for reaching into the squalor of a sinful world to rescue us, the one lamb that was lost. Your mercy overflows onto the world, and your grace fills every dark crevice... you bring your light into all the world. Hear our prayers Father, and come for us with healing, salvation, and forgiveness. Open our eyes to the truth that is you, and defeat our vanity, so that we will not become prey, and humble ourselves before you... thus dwelling in your house forevermore.
“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.””
John 3:19-21 ESV
Rich Forbes