Have you ever been totally blow away by the magnitude of God’s love for you? His love for us is overwhelming. He loves us so much that He sacrificed His son to pay the price for our sins. When I really stop and think about what God and Jesus sacrificed to save me, I am overwhelmed by God’s great love for me. Most often I experience this overwhelming passion when reading David’s psalms and when engaging in singing songs of worship to God.
There are many songs of praise that express God’s love to us. One of my favorites is “Oh How He Loves Us” by The David Crowder Band. This song captures a bit of the incredible power of God’s love for us. I invite you to experience this song for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7CQ96uohcM
There are people in my life, whom I love and admire, who believe in predestination. They believe that God predetermined before we were born whether we would be saved and spend eternity in Heaven or whether we would be condemned to Hell. I agree that not everyone will go to Heaven, but I cannot believe that God, who created us and loves us passionately, would condemn anyone to Hell. This belief is not based on my emotions or hopes but on the Word of God.
John 3:16 is perhaps the best known verse in the Bible. It says, “For God so loves that world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (King James Version) I believe that ‘whosoever’ means everyone and anyone who will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be saved. Furthermore, Peter tells us that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 KJV).
These truths were reinforced this week as I read David Hill’s book , Whirlwind. David describes a near-death experience he had when he was lost in sin. He knew without a doubt that if he died he would go to hell. He felt the horror of spending eternity separated from God. Furthermore, he realized that the greatest pain of hell was the agony caused to God by those who rejected His love. The following is a quote from David’s book:
As much agony as I experienced on the night that I tasted hell, there was a greater pain. During the entire experience, I was aware of how much sorrow I had caused the Lord. You see friend, the real tragedy of hell is that God’s heart is broken for those people who reject Him. Although there will be no sorrow in heaven, Jesus will forever bear the scars that paid the price for all of mankind’s redemption.” (Whirlwind, page 56)God does love us–every single person He created–completely and passionately. If you have not yet experienced God’s love, please consider accepting Jesus’s free offer of salvation today. Please click on the ‘Basics of Salvation’ page to learn how to do this.
Susan's Reflections 