Translate

Thursday, June 7, 2012

GOD loves you! Jesus saves!

Some might think that God's love ended when the man and woman sinned. It is true that sin has turned this world into a place of hardship and suffering. It is NOT true that these things ended God's love. Think about each time when God showed His just anger against sin. You will find in each case that God made sure His continuing care for people was known.

In Genesis 3 God was about to punish Adam and Eve for their sin. FIRST, though, He gave the promise of hope. He assured them that the woman's offspring would crush their enemy (3:15). BEFORE the couple were driven out of their garden home, God Himself made clothes for them (3:21). Later God helped Eve to give birth to her child (4:1). When that child had grown God spoke to him to help him overcome sin (4:6).

The next great example of judgment was the flood (Genesis 6). Wickedness had almost completely taken over the earth. Only one God-fearing family was left! It became necessary to actually wash the earth clean. Yet even this was an act of love. It was a fresh start, so that good could again be known on earth. God removed that evil generation to warn future generations (2 Peter 3).

God even used Noah as a "preacher of righteousness" to warn the wicked people of that time (2 Peter 2:5). They refused to listen. So, in the words of Jesus Christ, "the flood came and took them all away" (Matthew 24:39).

The rainbow that God set in the clouds immediately after this reminded the world of His mercy. It assured the earth that no such flood would happen again. The seasons would remain steady (Genesis 8:22; 9:8-17). Many centuries later the apostle Paul pointed at the dependable seasons and regular crops. He said that these were God's "testimony" proving that "He has shown kindness" (Acts 14:17).

No comments:

Post a Comment