3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
(I Timothy 2:3-6 ESV)
God wants people to come to Him, to experience salvation. He wants it so much, He died for it.
He gave everything for our salvation, and then it is our turn to respond. When we take a few minutes to dwell on all that God has done and given and secured on our behalf, it should irresistibly stir us to respond.
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, (I Timothy 2:8 ESV)
We should pray, we should shout the good news from the rooftops, and we should praise Him with every breath.
The crazy thing? It doesn’t end there. He didn’t “just” make a plan from the fall of man that involved great personal cost and pain for Him in order to save us, He also wants to keep blessing us.
As a parent, this doesn’t really surprise me. I don’t need anything from my kids in order for me to want to keep giving to them. I want to do everything in my power to provide for them, love them, protect them, nurture them, grow them, and even spoil them a little bit. I have tasted a little bit of what it feels like to love someone selflessly, and truly expect nothing in return. It doesn’t mean heedlessly indulging their every whim, but it means genuinely wanting the best for them even when it costs me. Even when it is inconvenient.
God saved us, and He wants to keep on giving – a relationship, protection, confidence, security, help, fulfillment, peace, quiet, knowledge, love, holiness. Each of those are represented just in Psalm 20, Psalm 21, and I Timothy 2, to say nothing of the other 1,186 chapters of the Bible.
That is why, while some might trust in horses and chariots, we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Lord God, Your love for me is beyond comprehension. I could never praise enough, respond enough, give enough, or be enough to repay you. And yet, I know that’s okay. You did it out of deep love for me, expecting nothing in return. Asking nothing in return. Wanting nothing in return. Thank you for that example. Thank you for that love. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.
Sixty-six books in a year 