Now and Then

Now all of us…may come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. – Ep. 2:18

“Now all of us” – what a tremendous phrase! There was a time when it was only the Jews. God chose them out of all the nations on the earth to receive His literal and incarnate Word. Why them? It couldn’t have been because of their tremendous faith. Their history is rife with doubt. It couldn’t have been because of their good attitudes. Moses, the most humble man on earth (according to God who should know these things) couldn’t hack their bad attitudes. For some unfathomable reason, God looked on earth and chose this backwater, hillbilly bunch of nobodies and turned them into an historical force to be reckoned with. They had nothing to offer and they were ungrateful for the opportunity.

The Lord sent prophet after prophet. He had men pen the Old Covenant under the inspiration of His Holy Spirit. They killed the prophets and lost the Scriptures. God decided to take matters up a notch and showed up Himself. They killed him. But God has a remarkable way of turning the worst things into miracles of hope. He resurrected from the dead and (perhaps an even greater miracle) still loved the ones who had killed Him.

“Now” – as opposed to “then”, seems to imply a change. Boy! Have things changed! Since Israel rejected the kingdom offer, instead of packing up and going home like the rest of us would, God decided to love even more magnanimously. He offered the kingdom to EVERYONE – Jewish or not. He turned the whole planet into his chosen people.

Are we grateful? Do we accept his offer with open arms and humble hearts? Of course not. Many of us still reject Him and grumble about how hard it is to give up our pleasures in life. God loves us in spite of us. We are no different than the Israelites. We are no less hard-hearted and stiff-necked.

But to those of us who do accept Him comes the sweetest of gifts – the Holy Spirit Himself. He loves us so much, so intimately, that He offers to take up residence permanently in our hearts. This gives us a hotline direct to God the Father. When we pray, we don’t have to go through priests or saints or Jesus’ mother; He gave us His direct number. We can call on the Sovereign Lord of the Universe at any time, anywhere about anything. But the question is…do you take advantage of it? Do you know of any human that has loved you so much? Name someone who has done more for you. Look around and find someone who has been more unselfish in their love. Until you do, why not enjoy your relationship with God? Drop Him a line sometime. Say thanks every once in a while. Share your thoughts and feelings. I guarantee you’ll get a receptive audience.