Among the favorite Scripture verses that many of us have is 1 Peter 2:24 that says “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds YOU have been healed.”That’s very personal for us and for God. God loved us some much that he provided a personal sacrifice so that we could be healed of our guilt and shame—forgave us. In that single act – of Jesus dying on the cross, God said “I want you to be with me. I want you as my child!”But the amazing thing about God’s gift is that He did this without anyone being worthy of the precious gift. We were not “good” enough; we could not merit or earn that gift. In fact Paul tells us that Christ died for us when “we were His enemies” (Romans 5:10 ) and when “by nature we were children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3).So why would God bother with such weak and flawed mortals? How could God love a people like us?Even the world religions agree that a god, or gods, could not love people like us. Did you realize no matter what world religion you talk about — their gods (if they love anybody) only love “nice” people? Love, in those religions, is reserved only for the ones who deserve it. People have to prove that they are worthy of salvation.By contrast the Bible is filled with verses that show God’s love for us! As Jeremiah 31:3 says “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Think about that —“I have drawn you” God sought us out and He drew us to Him.Isaiah 52:7-10 tells of how God has sought us and in verse 10 it states: “The Lord has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations.” A little later Isaiah tells us that “He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede (no one able to step in for us and save us); then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.…And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those ...
