There are many aspects of the nature of God which I am thankful for. God is longsuffering and for that I am eternally grateful. If it was not for the longsuffering nature of God I would be in bad shape. If God gave me what I deserve when I deserved it, I would not be able to write this article today.
If God was not longsuffering, you and I would be without hope. Why? Because we have sinned (Romans 3:23) and sin requires a payment, the payment is death (Romans 6:23). The longsuffering nature of God gives us time, though not unlimited, time to make our lives right with Him.
We can see the longsuffering nature of God in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament God was patient with the Israelites who time after time rejected His commands and guidance (Numbers 13-14). In the New Testament we see God’s longsuffering as well. Consider what Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” The Lord of the heavens and earth desires you and I reach salvation! He is patient with us, even though we don't deserve it and often times don’t appreciate it. What a blessing it is to serve a God who looks at our rebellions, our mistakes, and our trials, and through them all desires to give us as much time as possible to reach salvation.
Just a side note, if God is longsuffering with us, shouldn’t we offer the same amount of grace with others? Often times it is difficult to be longsuffering when people do or say hurtful things against us. When we compare the longsuffering nature of God to the things we do, it ought to cause us to be more patient with people.
Make no mistake, God’s patience will not endure forever, He tells us so. There is a time coming when He will judge the world (Acts 17:30-31). However, what a blessing it is to know God is longsuffering with us when we fall short of His will for our lives!
Showing posts with label mercy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mercy. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
I Deserve Death (10 Reasons Why I Love God #2)
I deserve death and nothing more. You might be asking yourself how I can make such a bold and harsh statement. The reason I know I that I deserve death is the Bible tells me so. The first part of Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death…” If we consider that we all have sinned (Romans 3:23), it is easy to understand that what we all deserve is death and nothing more.
Thankfully, because of God’s love, mercy, and goodness, death is not our only option. The full text of Romans 6:23 reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You see, God knew that when we reach a certain age and have to choose right from wrong, we were going to mess it up, we were going to sin. Sin separates us from God, no doubt about it, but God has given us a way to restore that relationship, through His Son, the perfect sacrifice. “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:15). Jesus the Christ, the perfect sacrifice came to this earth willingly (Philippians 2:5-7), so we didn't have to suffer the consequences we deserve.
The fact that God loved me enough to send His Son to pay the price that I owe is something that causes me to have a deep love and devotion to Him. John 3:16, has become a little bit of a “token” verse in today’s society. Unfortunately, sometimes it seems we read that verse in our Bible or see it on a sign at a football game and fail to give it the consideration it demands. God’s love for us is pure, strong, and constant. His perfect, blameless, and precious Son was given on our behalf before we ever decided to love Him back.
There is nothing you can do to make God stop loving you, the giving of His Son is evidence of that. The question for us to ponder is does the gift of love God provided for us, Jesus Christ, cause us to love God enough to be obedient to Him and His will? I am so thankful that though wrath was owed, through Christ, mercy is bestowed.
Thankfully, because of God’s love, mercy, and goodness, death is not our only option. The full text of Romans 6:23 reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You see, God knew that when we reach a certain age and have to choose right from wrong, we were going to mess it up, we were going to sin. Sin separates us from God, no doubt about it, but God has given us a way to restore that relationship, through His Son, the perfect sacrifice. “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:15). Jesus the Christ, the perfect sacrifice came to this earth willingly (Philippians 2:5-7), so we didn't have to suffer the consequences we deserve.
The fact that God loved me enough to send His Son to pay the price that I owe is something that causes me to have a deep love and devotion to Him. John 3:16, has become a little bit of a “token” verse in today’s society. Unfortunately, sometimes it seems we read that verse in our Bible or see it on a sign at a football game and fail to give it the consideration it demands. God’s love for us is pure, strong, and constant. His perfect, blameless, and precious Son was given on our behalf before we ever decided to love Him back.
There is nothing you can do to make God stop loving you, the giving of His Son is evidence of that. The question for us to ponder is does the gift of love God provided for us, Jesus Christ, cause us to love God enough to be obedient to Him and His will? I am so thankful that though wrath was owed, through Christ, mercy is bestowed.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
10 Reasons I Love God (#1)
Have you ever thought about why you love God? Can you think of 10 reasons you love Him? I hope you can think of a thousand! Exploring our love for God is a worthwhile venture, and doing so should cause us to have a deeper love for Him in the process.
The first reason I’ll offer as to why I love God is, He loved me first. Can you imagine that? Christ was not crucified to convince God to love us, God loved us from the beginning! Think about it this way, the love God has for you and for me existed in the heart of God before the foundation of the world was in place. God loved us so deeply that when the fall in the Garden of Eden happened, there was a plan in place, a plan which would cost Him His Son, Jesus Christ.
But why would God choose to love people who would (sometimes purposefully) hurt Him by sinning against Him? The fact that man is sinful (Romans 3:23), does not change the truth of man being created in His image (Genesis 1:26). You see, we have an eternal soul which has an eternal destination, that’s where the love of God comes in! The Father desires that each of us be with Him someday in Heaven (2 Peter 3:9).
The fact that God loves sinful and fallen man should give us all the incentive we need to love Him as we should! It is because God first loved us that we have the hope of eternal life with Him. Instead of condemning us to being eternally lost without Him, God had a plan in place to redeem fallen man, and that plan came from love. Without God first loving us where would we be? Lost.
The question becomes this, do you love God because He first loved you? That should be all the motivation we need to love Him, yet He offers us so many more reasons! It is my prayer that as you learn more about God through His word, and His plan for your life, it will cause you to love Him more each day. “For God so loved the world…”
The first reason I’ll offer as to why I love God is, He loved me first. Can you imagine that? Christ was not crucified to convince God to love us, God loved us from the beginning! Think about it this way, the love God has for you and for me existed in the heart of God before the foundation of the world was in place. God loved us so deeply that when the fall in the Garden of Eden happened, there was a plan in place, a plan which would cost Him His Son, Jesus Christ.
But why would God choose to love people who would (sometimes purposefully) hurt Him by sinning against Him? The fact that man is sinful (Romans 3:23), does not change the truth of man being created in His image (Genesis 1:26). You see, we have an eternal soul which has an eternal destination, that’s where the love of God comes in! The Father desires that each of us be with Him someday in Heaven (2 Peter 3:9).
The fact that God loves sinful and fallen man should give us all the incentive we need to love Him as we should! It is because God first loved us that we have the hope of eternal life with Him. Instead of condemning us to being eternally lost without Him, God had a plan in place to redeem fallen man, and that plan came from love. Without God first loving us where would we be? Lost.
The question becomes this, do you love God because He first loved you? That should be all the motivation we need to love Him, yet He offers us so many more reasons! It is my prayer that as you learn more about God through His word, and His plan for your life, it will cause you to love Him more each day. “For God so loved the world…”
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