If You Continue

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—  if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.

Established and firm – that’s what we need to be.  And hearing the word and refreshing our minds with the truth of the word daily enables us to be both of these things.

It’s good to recall and remember our sinful state into which we were born.  It doesn’t take long for a new parent to realize their sweet infant is selfish and desiring all of their needs to be satisfied – at the expense of all else!  And as parents, we quickly learn that if we want that baby to grow up to be a functioning, healthy adults we must eventually train that child to think of others instead of themselves.

Because God is a holy god, and we were born into a sinful nature, we had no relationship with him.  And no hope of one.  But because of Jesus’ death, we are set free from sin, and he sees us whole and without any mark or trace of sin.

This is the gospel – the truth – the foundation on which we stand and we must hold on to it, to keep firm in our faith.

Remind yourself daily, hour by hour if necessary, of the goodness and faithfulness of the God who loves you enough to take you as you are, offer up his Son for you, and in doing so he sets you face to face with him, reflecting the holy, pure image of himself.

That is love.