Choice

Do we resist the blood of Jesus or do we accept his life within us through forgiveness?

There are many things in life we get to choose.
One of those things is our acceptance of God.
Our acceptance of his acceptance of us.
This goes both for believers and unbelievers.
Once we’ve given our lives to God, and maybe we’ve been believers our whole lives, we still can choose to what degree we let his mercy affect us.
We still get to choose whether we release ALL our sins to him and receive his forgiveness or if we tenaciously hold on to our mistakes and want to pay the price we deserve. To deserve forgiveness so to say.
Of course that isn’t possible. You can never undo your wrongs. Not by a thousand rights.
It might feel like you can recompense for them but you can’t undo them.
That’s why we need the blood of Jesus so much.
To cover our sin. He’s the only one that was able to pay the rightfull punishment for our faults. We cannot do that ourselves. We don’t have that ability.

Two things can prevent us from receiving his forgiveness freely.
And not trying to earn it, to pay back for what Jesus did for us.
If He had to die for it so that righteousness was done then surely there is no way we can make our wrongs right and pay the rightfull penalty for our sin ourselves.

One obstacle is pride.
It takes humility to receive his mercy.

Read also “Pride” and “Humility”.

Another obstacle is a wrong view of God.
Possibly because others that should have reflected God’s character to you didn’t.
Maybe because they didn’t quite have a right view of God themselves.
You can’t give what you don’t have.
A father is supposed to reflect the image of God as our Father.
Remember we are made in his image.
Because many fathers don’t know God or what He is like they can’t reflect Him to their children and this can lead to a wrong image of what God is like.
You can see that many things in live are twisted and defiled when we don’t have a proper (right) view of God.
It affects everything.

Many things in life we don’t get to choose.
Like our parents or where we are born.
Yet the things we do get to choose influence everything else.

God gave ALL people free will, including those that hurt us.
If He had to end all pain He would have to take free will from every single person.
Including you and I.
We all have hurt others and did wrong.
That’s why Jesus had to die.
To pay the rightful punisment for all sin so that righteousness would be done.

God loves us the same if we don’t receive his forgiveness through the shed blood of Jesus.
His life that was given in our place so that we could live and not die.
Yet like all choices, our choice to receive his mercy through the sacrifice of Jesus does have consequences.
If we don’t receive it He will not give us eternal life. By which I mean that we won’t have a relationship with Jesus, who is the source of our life. The one through whom we fully come alive and are cleansed from all sin and are enabled to live righteous.

Receiving Jesus death as payment for our sin is not only about forgiveness.

It’s also about taking evil out of us so that one day, when we fully have surrendered to him, (which even for believers is something that is an ongoing process), the world will be delivered from evil.

See also “The Kingdom of God”.

It’s because God doesn’t want people to keep being hurt and do evil that He is not allowing those who haven’t submitted to him to live on forever and being enabled to continue to do evil.
You will be separated from his presence forever, the very thing that gives us life, if you don’t accept Jesus Christ as Lord.
Not because He stops loving you one day but because one day He won’t allow evil to continue.
Right now the earth is filled with the glory of God. To a degree. Just look at the beauty of nature.
Much more glory is coming.
But if you don’t submit to him and let God transform you, you will spend eternity seperated from his glory and beauty.

Your soul will long forever for the One it was made to love and have relationship with.
I could call it hell, and that’s indeed what the bible calls it, but I believe that the main suffering of hell consists of being separated from God.
The beauty and glory you now can enjoy because God loves us equally and wants to bless us even when we don’t believe in Him, won’t be accessible to you anymore.
This is not God’s will for you, to be apart from him and to suffer forever.
He longs for you even more than you long for him.
That’s why Jesus died in your place.
So that righteousness was done but you didn’t have to suffer.

Don’t let him waiting and longing…
Longing, for a son or daughter.
Give him a chance.
Converse with Him.
Ask for a sign if that’s what you need.
He will pursue to win you heart the rest of your life.
Let him love you.
Let him hold you.
Let him comfort you and heal every hurt and disappointment in your heart.
You’re worth it, not because of anything you did or didn’t do but because He made you.
To be His.
His beloved child.