The Lord's People
To whom and to what do you belong? Yes, each of us belongs to someone or to something. Think about it. If you are married, you made a covenant to belong to your spouse. If you joined a church, you belong to that spiritual family. By the time you finish your list it could be pretty long. When you get to the end, look to see if you belong to the Lord. Nothing could be more important in life.(II Chronicles 23:16) The priest, Jehoiada, led the people of Judah and the king to belong to the Lord first and foremost. I would make the same challenge to us today.
There are really two parts to belonging to the Lord. We have to choose to give ourselves to the Lord Jesus, and He has to decide to adopt us into His family. The adoption is not automatic just because we say we want to belong to Him for the benefits that relationship provides. He looks at our hearts. He looks to see if we have genuine, living faith that acts in obedience. Then, and only then, does He adopt us, so that we become His. After all, why would He want us to represent ourselves as belonging to Him, if we are living like the devil and following this world?
I suppose this is why some sincere believers think that a person can lose his or her salvation. They think that if we cease to follow Him, He cuts us loose or divorces us. I do not see the Bible that way at all, but I do see it as a very serious matter. Jesus doesn't get married to anyone who is not making a lifelong commitment to Him. He doesn't accept anyone who is not going to be completely His forever. That is how we become the Lord's people, and once we do, it should define all we are. It should matter more than anything else in this world. Consider what a high honor it is to be called "The Lord's People."
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 25-27.
There are really two parts to belonging to the Lord. We have to choose to give ourselves to the Lord Jesus, and He has to decide to adopt us into His family. The adoption is not automatic just because we say we want to belong to Him for the benefits that relationship provides. He looks at our hearts. He looks to see if we have genuine, living faith that acts in obedience. Then, and only then, does He adopt us, so that we become His. After all, why would He want us to represent ourselves as belonging to Him, if we are living like the devil and following this world?
I suppose this is why some sincere believers think that a person can lose his or her salvation. They think that if we cease to follow Him, He cuts us loose or divorces us. I do not see the Bible that way at all, but I do see it as a very serious matter. Jesus doesn't get married to anyone who is not making a lifelong commitment to Him. He doesn't accept anyone who is not going to be completely His forever. That is how we become the Lord's people, and once we do, it should define all we are. It should matter more than anything else in this world. Consider what a high honor it is to be called "The Lord's People."
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 25-27.