“Oh, how I love Jesus…because He first loved me”. The lyrics to this great hymn are an exclamation point at the end of the sentence of faith Many who say that man has some sort of a free will to reject or accept salvation through faith in Jesus Christ need to read the last five words of the refrain again and again; …because HE FIRST LOVED ME. When I first heard the Gospel, I remember my fellow church members (I was a member, but not saved, a further endorsement of election) called Christ “the Hound of Heaven.” I was puzzled by this as I thought those who want salvation pursued Christ and not the opposite. Then I looked at myself and I saw that this “pursuit” on my part was just a pathetic attempt to be like the others. I was a Christian on Sundays and someone else the rest of the time. Oh yes, I put on the show and went to Training Union, Sunday school, etc. But my heart was not in it as much as my enthusiasm to be a “good Christian”, at least on Sunday. At age 25, after service in the Marine Corps and a show of some religiosity by joining a church, God confronted me with my sinful and hypocritical life. He could have let me go on as I was very satisfied with playing church…but He didn’t. Christ pursued me, and I am eternally grateful even though the two year agony of dealing with my past (and present) life, and the resultant guilt, drove me to the depths of depression. God tears some of us completely to the bare metal, and then begins to rebuild us. Mine was a 40 year rebuilding process (not through yet), and a patient God who put up with my childishness all through that time. I have “zig-zagged” much too much, and like a seasoned captain on a cruise ship, I am beginning (I say once again, beginning) to sail a straight course. I confess that I have never fully forgiven myself as thoroughly as Christ has, and it is something that affects my faith way too much; but, it has drawn ne nearer to Him, not away, and I am being carried in the arms of my Savior (one set of footprints in the sand) with His strength, not my own.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 17:34:47 +0000
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