I am in love. I am part of a great love story, authored and set in motion in time and space by God Himself. The story is well beyond my comprehension or even imagination, so I could never figure it out on my own, but only as God reveals it to me in His Word. I believe that the Bible is God's Word, the story of God’s dealings with His creation, told through prophets and apostles who were inspired to write- it is a joint effort between God and man. Being God’s revelation to all who can see and hear, I accept the Bible as the highest authority on who God is and all that flows out of that.
The Bible is a love story, well summarized in John 3:16 which tells us, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This extravagant love story begins in eternity past, even before creation, when the Father and the Son together initiated their plan for redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. The story has included generations of people from all cultures and backgrounds and it continues today. The final chapter has not be written yet, waiting for all the children of God to make their contribution and write their story in the Book of Life. What are you writing? How do you want your story to read?
I say it is a love story because it reveals the great love that God has for us and, it teaches us what love is, that God is love. This love is evident in the act of creation, the fact that he made the universe, fine-tuned it to sustain life, and gave humans awareness and understanding so that we can relate to him. He desires a relationship with us and wants us to belong to Him. The ultimate revelation of His love is Him sending his one and only son to die on our behalf, to pay for our sins, redeeming us to Himself and bringing us into his family.
My prayer is that you will respond to the love of God by embracing Him and His sacrifice for you on the cross. This is not about religion, but about a loving father reaching out to his lost children.