This is an eye opener but can’t be taken the wrong way. God is love and will always love people no matter where they choose to end up, but He wants us to believe in Jesus Christ and have the faith to choose Him. As we do, we let Him transform us into His image of righteousness. Romans chapter 12 verse 2 is such a good thing for us to remember. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
God will never leave us and salvation doesn’t go anywhere because Jesus has already done what the Father had Him do. But we can deny who He is and we can choose to live in unbelief just as the Israelites did and when we are not connected to the root, we as branches don’t end up well. It is God that gives us strength so our belief comes with our surrender. Look at what Paul shares in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verses 11-14, “This is a trustworthy saying; If we die with Him, we will also live with Him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will deny us. If we are un-faithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is.”
God doesn’t move, His love is there always and we don’t have to earn His love but we must choose to believe and in that belief there comes trusting and in our trusting there needs to be surrender so that our faith is seen and our heart is changing. We have to stop making our relationship with the Lord a business deal and start making it about love. Pray by talking to God about anything – ask Him for wisdom and understanding – seek knowledge and change and continue to knock on the door by opening His word which is alive and active in our lives. This is what builds a transformed life and one which is connected to the root of the tree.
I love what Jesus says in John chapter 6 verses 26-29, “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend you energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of His approval. They replied, ‘We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do? Jesus told them, ‘This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one He has sent.” Let’s not make it hard, just believe in Jesus, open our hearts, surrender and be willing to always be learning. Amen