Have you considered God's Love?

Have you ever wondered why God even gave Adam and Eve the ability to chose in the first place? I mean, come on, wouldn't it have been better for us if Adam and Eve would not even have been given the ability to eat from that one stinking tree's fruit?

From that point on we (humanity) have been, as Romans 11 puts it, "imprisoned...in disobedience." Romans 3:23 says it this way, "all have sinned and fallen short of God's perfect mark." It means that we're all in the same boat of sin, unworthy and hopeless. But did you ever think that through that sin, our sin, God has been able to make His mercy known to everyone? Mercy is NOT receiving what you DO deserve. If we all have sinned then what we deserve is death (Romans 6:23) because the wages of sin IS death. But God's mercy, through our sin, is made available to everyone because everyone has sinned.

Here's why this is so incredible. If God only showed His love/mercy to those who deserved it... none of us (yes you... and me) would now experience God's love. Do you have a car? home? job? family? anything good in your whole entire life? You didn't deserve it because you're a sinner. You and I don't DESERVE anything. Honestly, you're not so wonderful that you deserve what you have. Neither am I. If we were honest we'd have to say we've all 1) lied at one time or another. 2) Taken something that wasn't ours... even a post it note or a cheap pen from work. Tell me you've 3) never, never had a dirty thought in your life (see #1). So we're all at least lying, adulterous thieves.

So God shows His love to everyone regardless of whether they deserve it or not. You may say, "I haven't experienced God's love..." Oh yea? Did the sun come up this morning? Did the rain fall on the crops that produce the food you eat? Did you take a breath? Another, and... another? Matthew 5 says that God makes HIS sun shine on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. That's what makes His love so incredible! It's NOT based on whether or not you and I deserve it! We can't live like that. I love those who love me more than those who I know don't. Sad, but true. But because God doesn't show favoritism it makes His love so much better, complete, holy and more perfect than my love!

He loved us first. And He has made His mercy available to everyone just the same. Have you considered God's love lately? Does it make more sense that God tells us to, "love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us"? It's because that's what He did with you and me. We were once, like so many others today, enemies of God because of our sin. We persecuted Him when we committed sin, called something He had created, ugly or trashy. Considered worthless the good things He gave us and rejected Him as the source of what we had.

We have all spat in the face of God because we wanted more. But his love STILL was made available to us. Think about it.