His Heart

His Heart

As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Ezekiel 33:11 NIV

I think it is a misconception to think that God loves the believer more than the unbeliever. I think that our minds are still very much in tune with the idea that performance and position deserve special merit. We think that because of our position in Christ, we deserve more of God's love than "sinners". And nothing could be farther from the truth. God's love for "us" and "them" is the same. And dare I say that love for the lost overwhelms God to the point that He would leave the ninety-nine in search of the one.

Jesus said that he came to do the will of his father (John 6:38). And in light of those words, you can find the heart of God in the expressions and actions of Christ. Jesus said that he came not to call the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). I am not looking for the healthy, but the sick (Mark 2:17). And if you follow the actions of Christ to the end you would find not only healing, not only a cross for the removal of sin and not only a promise of resurrection, but you will uncover the nearness of Christ (Mark 28:20).

One of the things that I am learning to love most about God is that His love does not stop at acquiring the bad and turning them into His own. His love goes on to attract the wicked and the base of our society. I think that every thing that goes on in the heart of God has at its roots, the reconciliation of mankind to Himself.