The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 1:3,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
What comes across loud and clear to me in this verse is invitation. John says what he proclaims of Jesus Christ, he does so that “you also may have fellowship with us.” Our God is a god of invitation. He invites all to his tent. He has open arms and seeks us all to come to him.
“For God so loved the world”, the whole world, not just certain ones. His call is to us all. God could have determined that only the best, only the brightest, only the strongest or only the most attractive would be permitted into his family… but not our God. If anything he almost seems to reach out to those that the world itself deems unworthy. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 we read, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30. Not just some… but all. The personification of Wisdom in Proverbs echoes this disposition of God to invite all in, “Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city. ‘Let all who are simple come in here!’ she says to those who lack judgment. ‘Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.’”
The apostle Paul’s burning desire was that all would heed the invitation or call of God. When standing on trial before King Agrippa and governor Festus he said, “I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” Acts 26:29.
Far from “cherry-picking” favorites to enter his tent as some would have us believe, our God’s desire is that we all come to him. “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4. He even holds out his arms to those who reject him as if he were pleading with them, “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I.' All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations…” Isaiah 65:1-2.
Our God is a loving God who wants us all. What he has decided is that all who enter his tent will do so only by embracing him in faith, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” John 1:12. As Jesus himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
How can you not love a God such as this?!
What comes across loud and clear to me in this verse is invitation. John says what he proclaims of Jesus Christ, he does so that “you also may have fellowship with us.” Our God is a god of invitation. He invites all to his tent. He has open arms and seeks us all to come to him.
“For God so loved the world”, the whole world, not just certain ones. His call is to us all. God could have determined that only the best, only the brightest, only the strongest or only the most attractive would be permitted into his family… but not our God. If anything he almost seems to reach out to those that the world itself deems unworthy. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 we read, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30. Not just some… but all. The personification of Wisdom in Proverbs echoes this disposition of God to invite all in, “Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city. ‘Let all who are simple come in here!’ she says to those who lack judgment. ‘Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.’”
The apostle Paul’s burning desire was that all would heed the invitation or call of God. When standing on trial before King Agrippa and governor Festus he said, “I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” Acts 26:29.
Far from “cherry-picking” favorites to enter his tent as some would have us believe, our God’s desire is that we all come to him. “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4. He even holds out his arms to those who reject him as if he were pleading with them, “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I.' All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations…” Isaiah 65:1-2.
Our God is a loving God who wants us all. What he has decided is that all who enter his tent will do so only by embracing him in faith, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” John 1:12. As Jesus himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
How can you not love a God such as this?!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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