I got to thinking after I did yesterday’s post on pruning that some may think that God is mad at them. He’s not!
We all have things that need to be pruned away, removed from our lives, so that we can grow strong and healthy. But God never does any of that with an attitude of anger, He is always led by His compassion.
That was a wonderful part of the angels message “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” The sacrifice of Jesus ended the war between God and man. God judged our sin by placing it on Jesus and He paid the price. He was convicted, found guilty and punished with death for crimes (Sin) He didn’t do. Paid in Full.
“But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help [a you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.
8 The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God’s justice and the judgment. 9 The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn’t have faith in me. 10 They are wrong about God’s justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won’t see me again. 11 And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world.” John 16:7-11 CEV
The Holy Spirit will reprove or correct men in their sin, but the sin is not believing that Jesus was and is God’s Son and He is the sacrifice for our sins. He will reprove of righteousness, showing us that through Christ we have been made righteous and that judgment belongs to satan and those that follow him.
The Apostle Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 5.
“For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether—the past is finished and gone, everything has become fresh and new. All this is God’s doing, for he has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ; and he has made us agents of the reconciliation. God was in Christ personally reconciling the world to himself—not counting their sins against them—and has commissioned us with the message of reconciliation. We are now Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were appealing direct to you through us. As his personal representatives we say, “Make your peace with God.” For God caused Christ, who himself knew nothing of sin, actually to be sin for our sakes, so that in Christ we might be made good with the goodness of God.” II Corinthians 5:17-21
It is our job, as ambassadors, to tell people that God has made a way of “peace” for them through Christ. Reconciling us to Himself, God has made a way for us to become righteous, complete new creatures.
Today I want to do my job as an ambassador of Christ and bring this good news to you. Now I ask you to share it too.
7 “For a short time I turned away from you, but with all my love I will welcome you again. 8 I was so angry that for a while I did not want to see you. But now I want to comfort you with kindness forever.” The LORD your Savior said this. 9 “Remember, in Noah’s time I punished the world with the flood. But I made a promise to Noah that I would never again destroy the world with water. In the same way, I promise that I will never again be angry with you and say bad things to you.” Isaiah 54:7-9
God isn’t mad at us – He is reaching out to us with arms of love!