The age-old question: “who can be saved” was answered with great confidence. Jesus made a statement to His followers that with God everything is possible. On the other hand, an anonymous writer of a letter addressed to the Hebrews uses quite the opposite language (Hebrew 6:4+6):
“For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened – those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit (…) and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance;”
How is convicting a person to turn around impossible to God? It must be impossible because God has decided a long time ago to refrain from interfering with human decision making. I believe God definitely has the power to coerce His creatures into submission, but it’s His ethical choice not to use manipulation; instead God humbly accepts whichever rejection comes His way, and He lets go of everyone insisting on having his or her own way.
If you are a parent dealing with a son or daughter going down the slippery road of self-destruction, then you know to an extent how God feels. He is the parent of creation. He feels very strongly about us. And yet He respects our decision and lets us be if we so insist, even if it destroys us. This is who God is.
In the end, all our wrong has been made right. It’s hard to take in this astonishing truth that has been preached about for centuries. Most of the time people tend to either beat themselves up over their failures or defiantly dig in their heels. Prophet Isaiah proclaims in the 44th chapter of his book (Isaiah 44:22):
“I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”
God has done all His legwork. He has swept away our failures so we can start over with a clean slate. This actually puts the ball into our court. From God’s point of view we’re worth every penny He paid when He sacrificed His Son on Mount Calvary. The question, however, remains: Is God worth everything we’ve got? That’s for us to decide. And whenever we go for it, accept His gift and return to Him, nothing, absolutely nothing will be impossible to God. No despair will be too deep, no fall too steep, and no storm waves too high that He can’t rescue us. Generations have come and gone, and this still holds true: our God is faithful. Our God saves – if we let Him.
Thought Of The Day 