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"Love is the only attribute that God has acted out to the utmost. We have never seen the utmost of His power, but we have seen the utmost of His love." Matthew Mead 1
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith..." (Heb. 10:19-22a).
The best of His power should awaken in us fear, whereas the best of His love is the womb of mercy and grace. We must forget the idea that God forgives us because He loves us. Such an overly pleasant view of God our Father would contradict His divine nature. Something perfect had to die to bring you back to life, to restore your relationship with God, and to present you face-to-face with your creator.
There are many things we are told to never forget (Prov. 3:3, Deut. 6:4-9), and this should be included as one of the foremost: there was a cost for our forgiveness. The divine nature of God cannot forgo justice and simply forgive out of emotion, and it is a great revelation that we are bought back to God solely by Jesus. When our gratitude begins to recognize the depth of the cost to be forgiven, we will forever be firmly held by the love of God.
Entering a true relationship with God once again is beyond our merit and is a submission of any human ingredient. It is a perfect result of the Creator's plan that assured our name in Heaven. Even more powerful and mysterious, this bold invitation doesn't have to wait until we die. Living in Christ and by faith, you may freely and confidently see God in Heaven as you pray. You have been redeemed as a child of God now (1 John 3:1-2). What a reason to rejoice! The miracle of our redemption has erased the great distance between Heaven and earth.
Remember that the story of Jesus is that of perfect accomplishment: His death was His why and His yes — put in place before life was breathed into man (Gen. 2:7) — a perfect plan for a sinner-saint.
1Mead, Matthew. A Name in Heaven, the Truest Ground of Joy, pp. 23–26.
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