“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, ‘Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.'” Jeremiah 31:3
Where does knowing God begin? As in all things which pertain to God, the answer begins with Him. The Lord Jesus put it like this: “‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,’ saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8) Scripture tells us that Christ is the Creator. The Apostle Paul confirmed this truth when he wrote: “For by Him (Christ) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.” (Col. 1:16) The fact that the Lord Jesus is the Creator means that He is the great initiator, the beginning of all things that exist. It was in His wisdom, and by His power, that all things would come into being. The means by which He accomplished the creation was His spoken word. He spoke creation into existence, and this, by the word of His power. The same is true concerning a person’s quest to truly know God. The quest begins with Christ alone, in His wisdom and power, speaking “life into the dead.” The real question is not whether God is working to bring men and women to a saving knowledge of Himself, thus putting them on the true road to know Him, and life eternal, but what is the reaction of the individual who is being “drawn” towards Him? What is the response of the heart to Christ speaking to the individual? One thing is for certain, when God takes the initiative to awaken a soul to their lost condition, He purposes to save that person. How do we know this? The answer lies in the Lord’s words to Jeremiah, which applied to him, to Israel, and to us today. The first thing that He speaks to us of is His love for us. “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” This is that love which God has for the entire world. It is out of this love that Christ takes the initiative through a miriad of ways, to draw out the soul to him, so that he can be saved. Ultimately, God will by His word speak to the heart of the one seeking Him. God will give grace, out of His mercy, to the individual to truly repent and believe. The question then becomes very simply, “Will the individual respond favorably to the overtures of the Spirit, calling him to turn from the ways of the world, to turn to the One who has brought the entirety of creation into existence, and who was willing to die on Calvary to prove His motive in coming to save?
According to the writings of Jeremiah the prophet, when the Lord declares His love towards a person, or a people, it is with the purpose of revealing to them His working, and to assure them that it is Him who is at work, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13) Why is it so very important for the individual to realize God’s personal working in the life? The answer lies in what follows, the fulfillment of God’s promise. In addressing Israel, He would say: “Again, I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel.” ( Jer. 31:4) In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus told Peter concerning His church, “…and upon this rock (the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God), I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18) God’s promise to Israel is basically the same as to the church. To the individual, concerning the matter of finishing the work that God has begun in the life, Paul writes: “Faithful is He who calls you who also will do it.” (1 Thess. 5:24)
Dear Father, Accomplish today Thy blessed and perfect work in us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.