I hope you never tire of me telling you about the goodness of God. I never get tired of seeing His lovingkindness in action!
My morning Bible time still has me reading about the Israelites and their journey through the wildness on their way to the Promised Land. These people…they are consistently inconsistent.
They profess their love and faith for the Lord and then they murmur and complain. They say they will be devoted to their God and then they build a calf of gold and have an orgy. I don’t think there is a time they go more than a couple weeks without veering off on their own and ignoring what God has said.
But God…but God, is always faithful!
“Then he passed in front of Moses and called out, “I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted. 7 I keep my promises to my people forever, but I also punish anyone who sins…” 8 Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord. 9 He prayed, “Lord, if you really are pleased with me, I pray that you will go with us. It is true that these people are sinful and rebellious, but forgive our sin and let us be your people.” Exodus 34:6-9 CEV
The Lord declares that He will always be loving and faithful. He will keep His word. He also says that He will forgive their sins and transgressions. He does hold them responsible for their acts of disobedience and that is why He gives them a priest to offer sacrifices of atonement.
He gives them a way to repent and to be restored by His mercy. He does the same for us.
The Lord has always known the shortcomings of men. He knows that we fall short, and He has given us His plan of forgiveness and grace.
“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:23-24 CEV
Jesus is that heavenly plan.
The plan of sacrifice in the Old Testament could never completely cleanse the sins and transgressions of men. The blood shed by the animals only covered their sins. But the blood of Jesus completely cleanses us and puts us in right standing with God, the Father.
“The Law teaches that offerings and sacrifices must be made because of sin. But why did Christ mention these things and say that God did not want them? 9 Well, it was to do away with offerings and sacrifices and to replace them. That is what he meant by saying to God, “I have come to do what you want.” 10 So we are made holy because Christ obeyed God and offered himself once for all. 11 The priests do their work each day, and they keep on offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But Christ offered himself as a sacrifice that is good forever. Now he is sitting at God’s right side, 13 and he will stay there until his enemies are put under his power. 14 By his one sacrifice he has forever set free from sin the people he brings to God.” Hebrews 10:8-14 CEV
When we get hung up on how unworthy we are, how many times we have failed, we are focusing on our efforts to be good enough for God. Switch focus! Salvation is never based on our efforts; it is entirely dependent upon what God has done for us!
It is His lovingkindness, His mercy, His grace! It is His blood; He is the fulfillment of the plan. He is our salvation!
The Father’s love is unconditional. His plan is for all. Walk in the grace and mercy that He has provided. It will bring joy and peace to every day.