It says in the Bible that it's God's kindness that leads us to repentance. It's not His justice, or His holiness, but His kindness. I believe it was kindness God was showing when He loved us first, before we ever knew Him. If you think about it, it takes a certain attitude of the heart to realize God's kindness. When you realize that you are eternally lost unless God pardons you of the penalty of your sin, then God would be perceived as being kind. On the contrary, if you don't have need for a savior because your plan is to either work your way to heaven on your good works or you think that you can get there without going through His son, Jesus, then you might not see God as kind. You might think of God as narrow minded or arrogant.
The truth of the matter is that God is His kindness and mercy sent His Son to pay the complete penalty of our sins. We couldn't do it. Even in our best of efforts we would be covered in sin. Our holy, righteous God can't be around sin.
I bring the matter of salvation up not only because we are approaching Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, but because I'm hearing more and more about a gospel without repentance. Be sure as you have opportunity to share the true meaning of Christmas this year that you not only talk about the love of God. Make sure people understand that a Holy God, sent His perfect Son to take our punishment.
The people that I'm beginning to meet in the river colony of Ensenada have been showing me something that I rarely see in the United States. This last Sunday, I met two sisters living with their two toddlers and another baby on the way. One of them was 16 and the other was 20. I don't remember exactly how we got on the subject of if they knew God, but one thing was very clear. They had heard about Jesus. They knew that He died for their sins. Their Christian mother had told them that God was with them and would always take care of them, but if you asked them if they were Christians they would tell you "no". Do you know why? Because they had not repented of their sins and come to the place that they believed that Christ paid the full price for their sins. They knew that to follow Christ was to live very differently, but they hadn't come to the realization yet that Jesus paid the full price for their sins, once and for all. When we began to share Jesus with them, the old sister would begin to cry and tell us her heart and mind were not clean.
Most people I've shared the gospel with in the United States seem to think that they are Christians because their parents are or because they attend church. I even heard someone on the radio say that he was curious whether or not the greatest harvest of souls was sitting in our churches. That is a very sad thought. I hope it's not true.
As we continue to share the love of God to the people of the river colony in Ensenada, pray that we will have opportunity to lead people to a genuine faith and understanding of salvation through Jesus. We are more concerned about their eternal destiny than their immediate comfort. And believe me we are trying very hard to meet their physical needs. We do both out of obedience to what God says in His word. We do not try and meet their physical needs so that they will feel obligated to listen to us. Instead we try to meet their physical needs so that it becomes a tool that God can use. If for no other reason, Christ commands us to take care of the poor.
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