He wants me
“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jer. 31:3).
Our Creator wanted us. He wanted me. When and why?
“According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” (Eph. 1:4,5).
“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” (Rom. 8:29,30).
This says that God foreknew us, then predestinated us, then He called us, then justified us, then glorifies us. So, when, in this succession of events, did He first want me? Does He want me after He has glorified me and made me look and speak and act like Jesus? Many people think God is that way. But, if I think like that I am likely to be discouraged about how I look, speak and act. This is because until I am perfect in every look, word and action, I will (as I believe) be unwanted and unacceptable by God. Not until I breathe my last breath and have complete victory in my life will God love me and call me His little saint.
We don’t do that to our children; so why do we ever think that of God? He would have to be twisted; He would have to be worse than we are, if He were that way. Many non-Christians believe God is twisted like that; and that is why they hate Him. Yet it’s the devil they are thinking of.
So when did God want me? When did He want me and cherish me during that sequence of events listed by the Bible? Was it after He had justified me? Did He justify me and forgive me and reconcile me to Himself first, and then after I began to love Him then He loved me and wanted me? Is His love based upon His justifying grace? Or is it the other way around?
Jesus is invited to the house of Simon for Sabbath lunch. Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven devils (Lk. 8:2), sneaks in and bathes His feet with her tears of gratitude and repentance. Mary tip-toed in to not be noticed, but she wasn’t the most intellectual person in the world. She forgot that no matter how quiet the room is, when you open a container of spikenard, it SCREAMS!
Simon sniffs and realizes that a tramp is off to the side preparing Jesus for His future burial. Then he hears the Master say, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (Lk. 7:47).
Jesus loved Mary before He forgave her. Dare I say that He loved her before He even “called” her? Yes, He loved her the whole time He gave her the victory over Satan, only to see her fall back under the control of Satan’s perverted temptations. Then Jesus would come to town again, and again He would cast the devil out; but again after a while she would go back to the streets again. Again and again, six times, Jesus would show back up, remind her of God’s true love and pray over her, and the devil would leave along with all his temptations, only to make his way back into her heart after she lost faith in Jesus’ love for her.
Then, came the day she was caught red-handed, in the very act of prostituting. Knowing the close tie Jesus felt toward her, His enemies set her up to ruin her Master publicly. Now, publicly humiliated and under condemnation of stoning, yet still worse than stoning, she realized that her careless attitude toward the kind of life that Jesus had been trying to teach her had now placed Him in great danger. They wanted to stone Jesus too, if He would try to help her escape the judgment.
Yet, He protected her, and that without any public humiliation. He didn’t need to humiliate her because her enemies had already done that. But His words, “Go and sin no more,” went straight to her heart. Deeper than any command had ever gone, light brightened up her fallow conscience. Satan left and this time forever. She was clean, and, providentially, the spikenard testified to her inner and outward beauty.
He had loved Mary from the beginning, since the first day He was invited into the home of Lazarus. Before she had done anything good or bad, He had loved her. “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
So, its nonsense to think that God’s love for man begins after man comes to God and has begged for His attention and pardon. God wanted us long, long before we want Him. He is the one who initiates the loving and saving process. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” (1Jn. 4:19).
Long before He called us, long before He predestinated us to be made into the glorious image of His Son, long before “of old” the Ancient of Days knew us and wanted us. He has always wanted me. And He has always wanted you.
Our Creator wanted us. He wanted me. When and why?
“According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” (Eph. 1:4,5).
“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” (Rom. 8:29,30).
This says that God foreknew us, then predestinated us, then He called us, then justified us, then glorifies us. So, when, in this succession of events, did He first want me? Does He want me after He has glorified me and made me look and speak and act like Jesus? Many people think God is that way. But, if I think like that I am likely to be discouraged about how I look, speak and act. This is because until I am perfect in every look, word and action, I will (as I believe) be unwanted and unacceptable by God. Not until I breathe my last breath and have complete victory in my life will God love me and call me His little saint.
We don’t do that to our children; so why do we ever think that of God? He would have to be twisted; He would have to be worse than we are, if He were that way. Many non-Christians believe God is twisted like that; and that is why they hate Him. Yet it’s the devil they are thinking of.
So when did God want me? When did He want me and cherish me during that sequence of events listed by the Bible? Was it after He had justified me? Did He justify me and forgive me and reconcile me to Himself first, and then after I began to love Him then He loved me and wanted me? Is His love based upon His justifying grace? Or is it the other way around?
Jesus is invited to the house of Simon for Sabbath lunch. Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven devils (Lk. 8:2), sneaks in and bathes His feet with her tears of gratitude and repentance. Mary tip-toed in to not be noticed, but she wasn’t the most intellectual person in the world. She forgot that no matter how quiet the room is, when you open a container of spikenard, it SCREAMS!
Simon sniffs and realizes that a tramp is off to the side preparing Jesus for His future burial. Then he hears the Master say, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (Lk. 7:47).
Jesus loved Mary before He forgave her. Dare I say that He loved her before He even “called” her? Yes, He loved her the whole time He gave her the victory over Satan, only to see her fall back under the control of Satan’s perverted temptations. Then Jesus would come to town again, and again He would cast the devil out; but again after a while she would go back to the streets again. Again and again, six times, Jesus would show back up, remind her of God’s true love and pray over her, and the devil would leave along with all his temptations, only to make his way back into her heart after she lost faith in Jesus’ love for her.
Then, came the day she was caught red-handed, in the very act of prostituting. Knowing the close tie Jesus felt toward her, His enemies set her up to ruin her Master publicly. Now, publicly humiliated and under condemnation of stoning, yet still worse than stoning, she realized that her careless attitude toward the kind of life that Jesus had been trying to teach her had now placed Him in great danger. They wanted to stone Jesus too, if He would try to help her escape the judgment.
Yet, He protected her, and that without any public humiliation. He didn’t need to humiliate her because her enemies had already done that. But His words, “Go and sin no more,” went straight to her heart. Deeper than any command had ever gone, light brightened up her fallow conscience. Satan left and this time forever. She was clean, and, providentially, the spikenard testified to her inner and outward beauty.
He had loved Mary from the beginning, since the first day He was invited into the home of Lazarus. Before she had done anything good or bad, He had loved her. “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
So, its nonsense to think that God’s love for man begins after man comes to God and has begged for His attention and pardon. God wanted us long, long before we want Him. He is the one who initiates the loving and saving process. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” (1Jn. 4:19).
Long before He called us, long before He predestinated us to be made into the glorious image of His Son, long before “of old” the Ancient of Days knew us and wanted us. He has always wanted me. And He has always wanted you.
posted by David | 6:34 AM
1 Comments:
David before I retired from a bussy day I wanted to find out if you have something good and surely my eyes met my expectations.
Its so nice knowing that God loves me and too he predestined me for the glorolious good things. I have loved your blog dearly and I will have a good nite sleep thinking about it. surely He loves me and thank you for those wonderful Bible quotations. Every blog I read is a blessing to some other people as well.
Daniel Nsubuga
Uganda
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