Love bids us welcome - Hope 103.2

Love bids us welcome

By David ReayFriday 5 Jun 2015LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes

Transcript:

Read Romans 5:1-2

1 Therefore,since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith,we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith,Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand,and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. (NLT)

There is a twisted sort of humility which leads us to be ashamed of ourselves and consider ourselves utterly incapable of relating to God. Ironically it is a sort of pride: we reckon while Jesus might have died for the sins of the whole world our particular sins are a bit too much for him to handle. So we shy away from him,figuring we are beyond the reach of his grace.

All this sadly misunderstands just what grace is. If we were not incurably imperfect and stubborn rebels against God there would be no need for grace,no need for Jesus. As it is,the good news of our faith is that while we had our backs turned to God,this same God turned his face towards us. He offers mercy to those who by rights don’t deserve it.

So who are we to refuse the offer? Who are we to hold back and be absorbed in our unworthiness? Of course we are unworthy: otherwise grace has no meaning. But God loves us and Jesus has made us worthy and acceptable to God. Our God whose character is love bids us welcome to enjoy his presence. And he doesn’t require goodness on our part,but helpless trust in the goodness of Jesus.

Blessings
David Reay