A reader asks....

Recent response to the blog has given significant encouragement  and has provided some questions for us to consider today.  Not knowing where any of your are on your spiritual journey, I get emails from time to time asking how certain scripture apply to us.  It is from these questions I surmise that some are relatively new in your search for God.  One such message reached me  last week and rather than asking specific questions, the writer simply stated, "after reading several articles on your blog, I am convinced I am not what God wants me to be. Please discuss what the scripture says about people like me."

I appreciate the chance to deal with this situation and share with all readers some basic Bible truths.  How do we become what God wants us to be?  To properly answer the question, we can go all the way back to the beginning pages of the Bible in the creation story, and learn how we are created to be in relationship with God. He loves us and wants us to love him. 

The sins we commit damage that relationship, and as a part of Adam's race, we all sin and deserve the punishment of death.  God wants us to know we are not unique to the idea of sin. In fact. Paul told the Roman Christians, "all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  When we recognize this truth, we further understand that we are not able to handle the sin problem on our own. 

But there is more bad news.  God, being just and perfect, cannot co-exist with sin. Sin must be punished or God is not just.  This is where we begin to see how much God really loves us. He not only created us to be in relationship with him, he also gave his Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins, giving us the chance to be brought back into relationship with him.  Sin separates us from him, and faith leads us back to him.

This is the good news part.  Jesus' death on the cross paid the price for your sins and mine.  In his writings to the Romans again, Paul says it like this. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Even though we wrestle with sin, and stray like sheep, God still wants to be in a loving relationship with us. The gospel story is about that journey of realizing we are sinners, and finding our way back to God. 

Now look at this verse from Ephesians, "In Him(Jesus) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace..."  

Still in Ephesians, another truth is revealed. "For by grace you have been saved, and this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God."

The journey of faith leads us to be obedient to God, and bring every element of our lives into His loving relationship.  He promises the gift of the Holy Spirit, and forgiveness of our sins.  We are all indeed blessed because He loves us. 

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