It’s Friday, December 1, 2023. Welcome to a month of Christmas celebration! Don’t miss this weekend’s message on Sunday, December 3: "Hope is our Anchor." For today’s lesson, let me begin with two questions: "When does salvation start?" And… "What begins the process?" Read on…
Today's Reading:
Romans 5,6,7,8
Scripture
“God demonstrates His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us … For if while we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved through His life.” (Romans 5:8, 10)
Observation
Here, we discover the starting point where God begins reconciling people. The redemption process did not begin only when a person finally received Christ and rehabilitated their ways. No, reconciliation began while we were still "enemies" of the cross! This proves that God initiated the process of our redemption long before we even surrendered. He began working on our hearts when they were yet far away.
Application
I used to think that I could only start loving a person when they finally repented and changed. But that’s when I realized that my love was not God’s love; it was conditional. I would love them only after they had proven their "worthiness."
2 Cor. 5:18 echoes this: "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation — namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation."
A ministry of reconciling people to God has been assigned to us, and He tells us to focus on their needs, not their sins. They won’t be able to "stop sinning" on their own and then come to Christ afterward. No, only God can change the human heart. Of course, we are all aware of the devastating effects of sin, but the main problem is not sin alone. It is rejecting Christ and retaining a heart that is separated from God.
Prayer
Father, there’s so much I need to learn about a biblical and accurate definition of love. I can easily adopt man’s love or settle for a legalistic one that’s "conditional." Show me Your love, oh God. Teach me Your ways. Lead me. I am still far from being the person You want me to be, but I commit to being an avid student!
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