God the Initiator

“For everyone that doeth evil hated the Light, neither cometh to the Light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”  John 3:20

No one has ever been born again who wasn’t brought under conviction by the Holy Spirit and realized his or her identity as a sinner before a righteous, just, and holy God.  I think the main reason that many do not repent of sin and trust Christ is because they do not see themselves the way that God does:  a sinner whose sin has separated him or her from his or her Creator.  This is why the Holy Spirit tugs at a person’s heart letting him or her know that he or she is not right with God.

God is the Initiator of salvation.  Man has no ability at all to make himself acceptable to the Lord.  God, in His love and mercy, gave man the way to make things right, yet men and women do not want to come God’s way; they want to make their own way, a way that doesn’t admit their sinfulness.  Man’s pride will not allow him to be honest with himself and with God.  God desires folks to take a long, hard look at the sin in their lives which keeps them from having God’s best, and to honestly and sincerely admit their sin and truly determine to turn from it and turn to Christ, allowing Him to live through them.  There is nothing like the peace which comes when you know God has forgiven you and welcomed you into His family.

It’s not easy to overcome pride.  We think that we’re just as “good” as anyone else, and, while that may be true by the world’s standards, God will not judge sinners by comparing them to others.  The sins of those who have repented and placed their faith in Christ have already had their sins judged at the cross and have been found not guilty because of Christ’s sacrifice to pay their sin debt.  Those who reject Christ and His offer of complete forgiveness will stand on their own before the Judge of all the earth.  They will be judged by the standards laid forth in God’s word.  There will be no Miranda rights and no use demanding an attorney to present their case.  Jesus has already offered His services to represent them, but they refused and decided to represent themselves.  They won’t be able to plead ignorance of the law because God has given them the ability to know right from wrong instinctively.  It’s called a “conscience”.

The magnificence and beauty of nature all around, the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, the smile of a little baby, the amazing and intrinsic way that the human body is put together, and the ability to love each other has given men and women an awareness of a divine Creator even though they don’t want to acknowledge Him (Romans 1:19-20).  I’ve read about missionaries who have gone into an unreached people group who have never heard of God, yet in their village was found an altar of worship because God has given all people a desire to worship.  The famous singer and songwriter Bob Dylan said, “You’re going to have to serve somebody.  It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you’re going to serve somebody.”  Joshua, one of Israel’s courageous leaders, made no bones about it: “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).  Amen and amen.