Jesus
calls us to be both holy and loving. What will it mean to live a life
that is becoming both more holy and more loving? It begins with being
reached by the love of God and changed by the love of God. We cannot
make ourselves more holy. We cannot make ourselves more loving. When we
catch a glimpse of the great God, who is both holy loving, we see
ourselves as we really are - sinners, and we also see the Saviour who is
reaching out to us, the Saviour who can and will change us. How does he
change us? He shows us our sin. He forgives our sin. Seeing our sin as
it really is, we cannot be, like the Pharisee who looked down his nose
at the tax collector (Luke 18:11). Seeing our Saviour as He really is,
we know that there is hope for every one who comes to the Saviour. We
have His precious promise - "I
will never turn away anyone who comes to Me" (John 6:37). When the
love of Christ reaches us, we rejoice in this: "Every offender who truly
believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives." Thankful to the
Lord for His love, which has reached us, we pray that His love will
change us. We pray that we will become more like
Jesus - more holy and more loving. We will say, 'Lord, Your love has
reached us. May Your love change us. May your love inspire us to live a
life that is pleasing to you - a life of holiness, a life of love.'
We cannot change ourselves. We need to be changed by the Lord. Let us
pray for His help. Let us pray that He will fill us with His love. This
is where true holiness comes from. It comes from the love of God,
reaching us. It comes from the love of God, changing us. The love of God
- This is the real power that lies behind a life of holiness and love.
We need more holiness. We need more love. These are not things that we
can reach out and grasp for ourselves. We must always look away from
ourselves to the Lord - "How much more will your Father in heaven give
good things to those who ask Him?" (Matthew 7:12).
"The Son of Man came to save the lost" (Matthew 18:11). In Matthew 18:12-13, Jesus speaks about sheep. He's really speaking about us. He is the Shepherd. We are His sheep. Sheep wander away from the shepherd. We wander away from the Lord. The shepherd looks for the lost sheep. Jesus has come to seek for us and find us. He brings us home to God, our Father. Through His saving grace, we receive new life - a life in which we rejoice in our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He delivers us from the condemnation, which our sin has brought upon us. He brings us into the knowledge of His forgiveness. This Gospel of salvation changes us. It teaches us to live in the power of God's love. Jesus speaks about "the Kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:12,23), "the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:14,24) and "eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). Jesus' way of thinking and living is so very different from the world's way of thinking and living. He chall...
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