What a Loving, Forgiving, Merciful God We Serve

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 is probably the most quoted scripture in the Bible.  Even non-believers have probably heard it often enough to be able to cite a good portion of the scripture correctly.  But do we really take the time to examine what this powerful verse means to us?

God's immeasurable, inexhaustible, divine love was required to save a sin ravished world.  He gave His Son, Jesus, to be the Prophet, the Priest, the King and, most importantly, the Savior for all mankind.

Through His unlimited mercy, Our Heavenly Father provides a plan for us to avoid eternal damnation for our sins.  His plan is simple.  We must submit to Jesus Christ as our teacher, our ruler and Our Savior.  Our duty is to proclaim His name.  Our benefit is everlasting life in His Kingdom.  

Jesus sacrificed His life for us.  He is asking us to sacrifice our old lives in exchange for a new life under His stewardship.  There is really no sacrifice on our parts.  What we receive is eternally greater than what we leave behind - what an awesome offer!  Yet many do not accept it.

To further understand the full value of the gift that we have received, we need to understand that we would not make the right choice if it were not for the grace of God.  We choose salvation because the Holy Spirit does a work in us that we could not do for ourselves.  What a loving, forgiving, merciful God we serve!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing a way for us to escape eternal damnation because of our sins. We thank You for providing Your Son as our sacrificial lamb and as our living, ever present Good Shepherd.  We humbly submit to You all that we are and all that we have in the name of Jesus Christ.  We pray that the presence of Your Holy Spirit will strengthen us as we walk the pathway of sanctification that You have set aside for us.  We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will prepare the hearts of those around us to receive Your Son as their Savior.   May our changed lives help draw them to Your Son.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Holy Redeemer, Jesus Christ.