One
of my favourite verses is from something that Jesus’ brother James
wrote. It goes,
“All good things and every perfect gift is from
above, coming down to us from the Creator of heavenly lights in whom
there is no changing or shifting like shadows.”
I
don’t know how many chances you give someone before you write them
off. How many times they can break their word? How many times they
can try to manipulate you or con you? Does ten thousand seem like a
reasonable number of chances to give a person? How about a lifetime
of chances? Does that seem to generous?
It isn’t too generous for your heavenly
Father. For He is slow to anger and abounding in Love.
When
you are adopted into God’s family, when you become a sister or
brother to Jesus there is no cutoff. His forgiving grace is promised
and God does not break His Word. Before the beginning of the universe, God had already planned for the forgiveness of your sins.
He planned to pay the
penalty for your sins.
He planned to preserve your sanctification.
He
planned to keep you safe to the end.
He planned to keep training you
even though you are prone to wander.
Even though you may lose your way a thousand times, God will not. Even though your devotion to
God may shift time and again, God’s devotion to you will never
change.
“He
who gave Himself up for you, while you were still His enemy, how will He not give you everything you
need for the completion of your salvation?”
What
kind of a person would pass up an offer like that?
Sorry, but that's another mafia-offer I won't even consider. Jesus, according to the gospels, was convicted and executed. I can't say anything about the legitimacy of the proceedings, which may be doubtful. I'm not sure if practicing sorcery and breaking the Sabbath were indeed capital crimes under Roman law - they surely were under Mosaic law.
ReplyDeleteBut what, by Brahma's navel, relates a miscarriage of justice in the year 33 CE to me, a person living thousands of miles away and almost two thousand years later?
Ah yes, daddy's curse. The benefit of being saved comes with the acceptance of the curse.
Christianity first condemns everybody, so that a few can be saved.
By a human sacrifice, how icky.