God has not only loved us when we loved Him, when we trusted Him, when we obeyed Him. He loved us when we hated Him, when we doubted Him, when we resisted Him and rejected Him and rebelled against Him.
He sought us though we had forsaken Him; He called us though we had shut Him out, He reconciled us though we had betrayed Him.
God not only loved us in our sin and backsliding, but He loved us when we thought we could never be loved again.
BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE.
Yes, our sin will separate us from God if we refuse to believe, repent, confess and follow, but He will give us every opportunity to be saved.
No one goes to hell because God wants them to be lost forever; they go to hell because they refuse to surrender to His rightful and loving claim over them.
God gives us the final word concerning our salvation, but He will have the final word concerning our eternal destination.
God inhabits eternity, but He interacts with us in TIME. Jesus died for our redemption, but He cries over our rejection.
God had plans for our deliverance, for our journey, for our victory. But salvation is a two-way relationship. God provides salvation and we choose to accept or refuse His offer. We choose to either love Him or love sin.
Our choice is a moment-by-moment love relationship, which will become eternal, or it is eternal opposition to God, starting now and continuing forever.
This is why God seeks us, and draws us, and sometimes drives us. But if we harden our hearts, He will cut us off.
The darkened and deceived minds will blame God. They will blame His authority, His standards, His discipline, His requirements, His chastening, His threats, His warnings, His justice.
God has given us everything necessary for life and godliness, but the enemies of God will try to shift the blame for their misery onto God.
We see this same scenario played out in families and churches. The messengers of reconciliation weep with broken hearts for the lost, while the self-absorbed scorns them, and breaks all connections with them.
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