God did not choose us because we were worthy, but by choosing us He makes us worthy.
~Thomas Watson (c. 1557-1592)
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
~2 Corinthians 5:14-21
This writer spent a beautiful series of moments 1,000 miles from his home town this weekend. And circumstances allowed for me to attend the same church service three times.
This was a very good thing.
The message was on something totally other. But such as is often the case, G_d will indeed use one sermon preached by one man to teach hundreds of different lessons in the same set of words.
As we come through the wicket gate of surrender, we begin to understand some wondrous truths about who we are in Christ. We are forgiven. We are accepted. We are set free. We are citizens of an eternal Kingdom that will have no end. And true these truths are. So very true. These words are life and truth that set us free and begin us along a path toward a Life more abundant than we can imagine.
And then it gets better. Oh my, does it get better.
i guess that i sorta understood this before, but G_d hammered this home through my spirit today. And perhaps, beloved, it is a truth that all of us need to know – really know – if we are to fully become everything that G_d has for us to be. Here goes.
We are worthy of His Love.
What?
Yeah. We are worthy of His Love. Completely.
Oh my.
Read the passage above again. Take a moment and let Him speak to you as you read.
We (who are in Christ) are totally new. The old man is gone.
We are reconciled to a righteous G_d. Get this. A G_d who will not and cannot tolerate sin has reconciled us to Himself through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
And through this reconciliation, we are now the very righteousness of G_d. We are that which makes up the foundation of His throne. We are part of the structure and body of the very Kingdom of G_d. We are in. We are in the Kingdom. We are in Him. He is working in us and through us now because He has made us worthy to be in His family and part of the plan of the ages.
Are we catching this? Let’s get simple. G_d and you are now on the same side. And this perfect and worthy G_d who has brought you into this place sees you as exactly the same as Him in regards to perfection and worthiness. This is a very big deal. This is very good news!
What should we do about this truth? How can we apply it to our lives?
Quit believing the lie that the evil one pours out into our mind. Ignore the lie that we are no worthy to be in His presence. Reject the false premise that we need to somehow do something else to be right with G_d – and simply start living in the truth that we already are worthy of His Love.
Come on! You know its true. How about we just start living like we believe what G_d says?
