Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)
Expanded Passage: John 1:12
The man wept. His tears arose from the overwhelming sense of love he was experiencing—love made more poignant by its contrast to his life-long feelings of unworthiness. With a single, uttered, “Yes,” his life changed, on earth and for eternity.
He was free. He was known. He was loved.
Pure joy illuminated his features. God’s kingdom had grown by one new child. The man began to tell others about his experience, as if compelled to do so. He had something that must be shared.
I watched, blessed and challenged, observing his joy, possible only through the power of believing Christ as Savior.
Salvation, new to him, was my experience at age ten, about fifty years earlier. How had I reflected salvation’s glory through those years? With whom had I offered this priceless gift?
Taking a mental account of how I had stewarded my life as a child of God, I can identify a mixture of successes and failures. I imagine your accounting would show similar results.
The glorious mystery of God’s love through Jesus Christ is that it is constant, regardless of our effectiveness. Our unworthiness doesn’t begin to measure up against the immense, passionate love God has for us.
We have lives that, with a single, uttered, “yes,” have been changed—on earth and for eternity. We have a priceless gift that must be shared.
Consider whom you might invite to join God’s family.
Janelle Vernon serves The Wesleyan Church as executive director of Communication and Administration, general secretary, and publisher for Wesleyan Publishing House.
© 2023 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
