July
5, 2003
TO
SAVE THE LOST
"For
the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost"
(Matthew 18:11, NKJV).
God is
not our enemy, He is our Friend. He has gone to incredible
lengths to bridge the gulf that separates humanity from Divinity.
Jesus said, "What do you think?
If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray,
does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains
to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it,
assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep
than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so
it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one
of these little ones should perish." "The
Lord is --- longsuffering toward us, not willing that any
should perish but that all should come to repentance."
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
(Matthew 18:12-14; 2 Peter 3:9; John 3:17).
God does
not wait for men and women to find Him, He goes in search
of them, the lost and straying. He loves us beyond anything
we deserve, unconditionally and forever. He longs to put and
end to the separation and He's gone to great lengths to show
us how He really feels about us.
"I
have loved you with an everlasting love; - with lovingkindness
I have drawn you" (Jeremiah 31:3). "It is not the
fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that
leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the
Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage
on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross,
and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the
soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear
His voice, and they follow Him.
"As
the shepherd goes before his sheep, himself first encountering
the perils of the way, so does Jesus with His people... The
way to heaven is consecrated by the Saviour's footprints.
The path may be steep and rugged, but Jesus has traveled the
way; His feet have pressed down the cruel thorns, to make
the pathway easier for us. Every burden that we are called
to bear He Himself has borne.
"Though
now He has ascended to the presence of God, and shares the
throne of the universe, Jesus has lost none of His compassionate
nature. Today the same tender, sympathizing heart is open
to all the woes of humanity. Today the hand that was pierced
is reached forth to bless more abundantly His people that
are in the world. 'And they shall never
perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand'
(John 10:28)... He will never abandon one for whom He has
died. Unless His followers choose to leave Him, He will hold
them fast."-- Desire of Ages, pp, 480,
483.
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