Chosen by Love # 123

Genesis 1:2

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Man was created from the dust of the earth, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. God shaped man in His likeness, but not with His nature. Though we are made in the image of God, we are not like Him. Without the Holy Spirit we live in a state of confusion and emptiness. Surrounded by darkness we become occupied with the works of darkness; this is the true condition of man.

The depravity of man started at the Garden of Eden when man disobeyed God. Every person born since then has been depraved at the moment of conception. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Born without the nature of God, man was completely deprived of love. In the midst of all of the chaos our lives become meaningless without God's love.

The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. Unaware that God is watching, man continues to live unconcerned about their pathetic situation. The ways of the world are brutal and men's hearts are often beyond the point of no hope and they were foreordained before the foundation of the world was created. Unknown to them, God placed a deep and silent cry in their hearts that long for love. The Holy Spirit carefully searches the earth for those that are chosen for His glory. The Holy Spirit looks beyond the depravity of man to hear the silent cry of the hearts.

The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you. There is no depth of depravity where God's love does not reach. There are no deeds of good works or religious acts that can be done to earn the love of our Father. God loves us simply because He chose to and for no other reason. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us.

The Cross of Christ is a constant reminder of God's everlasting love for man. Every heartbeat is God hand that knocks on the door of our hearts waiting for us to let Him in. He is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Surrounded by His love, every day is a new beginning and a fresh start for His mercies are new every morning.

Our hearts are easily ironed to be hardened and only by receiving the love of God can we be saved. God is faithful, he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. He is searching and calling us so that we can partake of His love and be saved. Once the love of God is in our lives we can love Him in return, We love him, because he first loved us.

Gen 3:19, Ps 51:5, Ps 33:13-14, Deu 7:7-8, 2 Pet3:9, Mat 5:45

KJV