Marriage and Family Meditations XLVI (46)
Psalm 104:34 May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD.
Cornerstone Ministries Napa Valley
Christian Relationships / Marriage–Christ and the Church
Believers and Non-Believers (God loves both)
Dear Friends and Family,
Thanks to all who have been meditating on the loving intimacy of our relationship with God our Father and Creator. I hope that it has stirred you as it has me to realize how personally He loves and cares for each one of us and how He desires that same unselfish love to manifest itself in us in our relationship with Him and with one another. Along the way we have seen that, in Christ, the world has been separated into two categories of people: those who are children of God, and those who are children of the devil. 1 John 3:10 – 23 The Bible teaches us that God’s children are united with Him through His son Jesus Christ our righteous Redeemer and Savior. The children of the devil are united to him through the sins of this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Many of us have learned that our Creator God has mercifully and graciously offered us a solution to the sin and judgment that we know we deserve, and we have put our faith and hope in what Jesus has said and done in our behalf.
The Apostle John recorded what Jesus taught:
John 3:16 – 21 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Through out the Bible we see two forces at work, the kingdom of God vs. the kingdom of Satan and the sinful world of man. The metaphors used in scripture symbolize the contrast: light and darkness, good and evil, godliness vs. ungodliness, love and hate, that which is of the God vs. the things of the world, Christ Jesus vs. the spirit of Antichrist. These are opposing forces in this world which the Bible warns us about. It does not matter if you are born of high estate or low estate, what race you are, what religion you follow, what education or lack of education you have, if you are a citizen of the third world or an industrialized nation. All men and women in this world, according to God’s word (the Bible), are lost in sin and darkness, and are under the condemnation of sin and judgment by our Creator, until they believe in and receive God’s loving and gracious offer of forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life through the sacrificial death and resurrection of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, and become “born again” children of God.
All of us who do believe have a firm conviction and faith that God has forgiven us, knowing that He has made us children of God. We have been saved from condemnation with the world. We have responded to God’s love by trusting and believing in Jesus, by obeying Him, by practicing righteousness, and learning to love Him and submit to Him more and more each day.
As God’s loving children it should always be our hope that by faithfully loving our neighbors, both those who believe as we do and those who don’t, we can share the truth, the life, and hope we have. We are exhorted to encourage and build up those who are His, and to make disciples of those who haven’t yet believed. May we always have the heart of Jesus to redeem those who are lost in sin and still need the Savior just as we do.
Titus 2:11 – 17
1 John 2 Please read and meditate on the choices God has given us and the significance of those choices in our life.
I hope you will consider these things and read my next blog which will be considering “Our Choices”
Love and Blessings to You All… Vince
