Hearts for God
Scriptures for today include: Psalm 146, Numbers 36:1-13, and Romans 5:6-11. Reflecting on these passages, I was drawn to verse 10 of Romans 5. “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.”
Recently, I asked our elders to consider which passages in the Bible gave them the most comfort or meant the most to their faith. I would have to count this verse as one of those passages that truly reflects the power of God’s love. As human beings we can see others as friends, strangers or as foes through the daily experiences of life. But as followers of Jesus Christ and people who still sin, God continues to see us as his children to be loved and not as enemies. Romans 5:8 tells us more about God’s love. “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” God’s love seeks to redeem us from sin and death, and offer us the gift of eternal life.
So if God proved his love by sending Jesus to save all his children, then how can we not, as his followers, love others in the same way? Well some might say, but pastor that is God and even as God’s followers we can’t do the same thing. But my response is to listen to Romans 5:5 where it says, “and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” It says to me that when we encounter others we can draw from the well of God’s hope and love, because that love has already been poured into our hearts. Because divine love has been poured into our hearts, as believers in Jesus Christ, we now have hearts for God. Because we have hearts for God it means we have the ability to look past another person’s sin, just as we trust that God looks past our sin, and therefore we can see what God as the Holy Trinity does–that we are all creatures loved by God.
Let us pray that we draw from the well of love God has put in us through faith in Jesus Christ. May our hearts reflect the love of Christ as we live and breathe on this earth. May our hearts for God bear witness through acts of compassion and love when we interact with others. Amen.
God’s peace,
Pastor Jim Paulson
