The Kindness of God

Have you ever thought about the fact that God didn't give you a choice about whether he would save you?  He saved you without your advice or consent. The only thing he gives you a choice about is whether you will accept his salvation.

John 3:16-17 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”   (NIV)

The Son of God became human, died on the cross, rose from the dead and ascended to the Father on behalf of and in the place of all humanity long before you were born.  The Father sent his Son to save the world, and the Son did what his Father sent him to do. And since you live in the world, his saving work includes you.

Salvation has no prerequisites:  It is God's free gift to humans, given entirely by grace, out of God's deep love for humanity.

Faith doesn't save us.  Faith doesn't change God's mind about us.  He saved us because he loved us, and because he is kind and good.

Notice the Apostle Paul's choice of words as he describes our salvation in Ephesians 2, verses 1-9:

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ….But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Did you hear those words and phrases describing how God feels about you: “Great love.” “Rich in mercy.” “By grace.” “Riches of his grace.” “His kindness to us.” “Gift.”?

What could be more encouraging than to know that God is not angry at you and never has been.  He acted to save you from your sins while you were still a sinner, as Paul tells us in Romans 5, and God did it because he is kind and rich in mercy and full of love.

You can trust a God like that.  He's on your side.  You belong to him and he'll never let you go.

I'm Joseph Tkach, speaking of LIFE.