If I were Jesus, I would have given up on me a long time ago.
I’m slow to change. I’ve struggled with the same sins for many years, making painfully slow progress. Every day I struggle with pride and the craving for the applause of people. I’ve struggled with fear since I was young. I’m not always a compassionate person.
Jesus should have tossed me aside onto the scrap heap years ago.
But in John 6:37 Jesus makes a wonderful promise that gives hope to scrap material like me. He says:
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
Do you hear the grace and compassion ringing from those words? WHOEVER comes to Jesus will NEVER be cast out.
Your faith is weak, Jesus won’t cast you out. Your love feels cold, Jesus won’t cast you out. You’ve sinned in anger again, Jesus won’t cast you out. Jesus keeps us in His grace.
Doesn’t this motivate you to continue fighting your sin? When we sin, the temptation is to stay away from God. But these words from Jesus are an invitation to return again to the fountain of grace for fresh strength to fight our sin.
So when we sin against our children for the third time in twenty minutes, let’s come back to the one who won’t cast us out. Let’s return to Christ through prayer and through the Scriptures, and let’s ask Him for grace.
He didn’t cast us out when we first came to Him, and He won’t cast us out now.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Such a helpful reminder. Thank you! It’s so easy to look at the mountain of sin in my life and focus there, instead of God’s grace, love, and patience. I get so involved in my role in sanctification that I forget that I only change when I’m focused on Him. Our senior pastor recently said, “God’s “impossible” commands are always wrapped inside amazing gospel promises.” What an amazing truth! The gospel is what motivates me to change and grow.
It is so easy to get wrapped up in what we have to do instead of what God is doing for us and in us. The gospel is always what motivates us!
Hey guys,
It’s great to find your blog. Super refreshing, reading it from over here. I’ll be following…
My prayers are with you and your church family.
Take care,
Mel
Thanks for your prayers Mel. So grateful that God is sustaining our church right now.
Thanks for the timely reminder! Particularly needful this morning.
You’re welcome! Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this encouraging reminder. Came just at the right time. Thanks be to God that He is not quick to give up on us like we are so prone to do on others!
I sure am glad that God is more patient with me than I am with others! His grace far outweighs the grace I give to others.
Yup, I’d have given up on me long ago. I’d have given up on some people in my life too. But God wants me to emulate him, to be Christ-like, so I have to make a conscious decision to not give up on those people either.
That’s a great point Karen. The grace of God extended to us motivates us to extend grace to others!
“So when we sin against our children for the third time in twenty minutes…”
Thanks for your blog today. This is THE very sin that seems to plague me the most, and which has tended to cause me the most guilt.
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
yes