That is the Gospel

Grace and a group of ladies from our home base have been meeting together through Google meet and studying the scriptures together. It's great. I see her light up and feel refreshed after meeting with them. So I got to say immediately if you do not have a fellowship where you get together and talk about life and the scriptures, you have to find one. There is nothing better than community.

Anyway, I was cooking dinner and I overheard Grace say that this is the first time that when she looked to see what the scripture says about people that she saw positive things first. She saw how God has a lavish love for people and that we are his precious inheritance. It kind of shocked her at first when she realized this because normally (while they were going through the old testament for their last study) it seemed like the first thing that came to mind was that people stink. We commit such atrocities, we don’t follow God with our whole hearts, we deceive and fight one another and more. They are going through Ephesians right now and we, being precious to God and him choosing us not based on works but on his love for us, is what Paul is trying to convey to the people in Ephesus. So I got to thinking about what Grace said and it hit me. That is exactly what the gospel is! We stink. We are rotten to the core. Yet God loves us anyway. Doesn’t that make you feel good?! It does me! I know that at my worst God still loves me. Those times I couldn't love myself, God still loved me. And it was because of that love that I am here today. He pursued me even in my sin to make me become better than I ever could have been alone. He’s raised me up with Christ and I rejoice for that. So I want to encourage you with this knowledge. Maybe right now you're not doing so hot in your life. God loves you. He wants you and his desire is for you to be blameless and holy before him (Ephesians 1:4). If you are walking in Christ today but still feel the guilt for past sins, God loves you despite that sin and has cleansed you from it. That is reason for praise! (Philippians 3:13-14) Rejoice in the Lord mightily friend for though we were enemies God loved us! Romans 5:8 God demonstrated his love that even while we were sinners, Christ died for us!