Good morning. God forgives those who come to Him. To all who will claim God’s grace in the person of Jesus Christ, God forgives and restores. Have you ever wondered why?
The easy answer, the one we have learned since Sunday School, is that God loves us so much that He gave us His Son, that One whom we know as Jesus, to pay the price for our sin. For God so loved the world, for God so loved us, He gave…
Why?
What is the reasonable answer to that seemingly simple question? Why would the God who created the universe love us, any of us, so much that He would pay such a price, personally suffering on the cross and then dying for us?
What is there about us that would make us worthy of God’s notice, let alone His love? We are created in the spiritual image of God. Does that make us worthy of His love? We are created for fellowship, for communion with God. Does that make us worthy of His love?
Perhaps if we had left those truths to stand as they were given when we were conceived and then born, we might be worthy of such love. But….and this is a HUGE caveat, but, we are no longer existing in that state of perfection. We have sinned, all of us. We have sinned and that sin has left us broken, disfigured, stained, and disabled. Surely God could not look at us, as we are, in THAT state and find us worthy of His love.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son that whoever will believe in Him shall not perish but will have eternal life. John 3:16
Why?
Take a look at the world. No, not the creation around you the people around you. It is the people of this world that God so loved that He gave His Son, sacrificed his Son, so that those people might live. Why? They are a mess, we are a mess. Yes, you and I are a part of that unfortunate group. We have sinned and therefore fallen short of the glory of God. But He loved us so much, even though in our sin we have openly and willingly rejected Him and rebelled against Him, that He gave (gives) us Jesus?
Why?
Obviously, we aren’t worthy of such grace. We have done nothing to deserve such love. We could never have earned that place of eternal life that God promises to all who will come to Him through our belief in our Messiah, Jesus.
So, I ask that seemingly simple question, expecting that it must have a very complicated answer: Why? Why, oh Lord, why would you do this for us?
Not surprisingly, God gives us His answer. In Isaiah 43:24-25 we read God’s answer to the question, “Why?”
You have not bought me sweet cane,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
“I, I am he
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
Did you catch it? I know, we may be distracted by the fact that God tells us that in spite of the wearisome burden of our sins, He blots out our transgressions, and in doing so He will remember our sins no more. Those are wonderful and amazing truths.
But the answer to the question “why?” is contained in the middle of those promises. God says to us, “for my own sake.”
It has nothing to do with our worthiness or unworthiness. It has nothing to do with our good looks or our best efforts. It has everything to do with the nature of Almighty God, and that nature, we are told in 1 John 4:7-8, is love. Because God is love, and for His own sake, is our “why?”
God loves you because He is love. God saves you because it is His good pleasure to do so. God sent Jesus to ensure that you would have the opportunity to join Him for eternity because He wants us there with Him. Every single one of us is His desire. We must only accept God’s plan, His love, His way, for our salvation: Jesus.
So, don’t ask “why?” Just say “thank you Lord,” and give Him praise with all the strength of your heart.
Vern