Good News: Life Principle 2
Contents |
God Loves You and Wants a Relationship With You
This is the foundation of the good news. God wants to be in relationship with you. The following passage makes this clear:
Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 5:11 - 6:2 - *** Key Passage ***
As you can see from the highlighted verse above, In Christ, God is not counting your sins against you! He's not mad at you - it's safe to get connected with him!
While there are mystical aspects to the relationship that God wants to have with us, let's focus on the practical aspects: God wants to be your father, your friend, and your life.
Father
God wants to be a father to you. In fact the parents who raised you, whether biological or otherwise, have a responsibility to prepare you for God’s fatherhood. Here are a few passages that illustrate God’s role as Father:
Friend
God also wants to be your friend. God’s friendship with us reflects that fact that he is constantly drawing us into partnership with him. Here are some passages that illustrate this:
- Abraham was God’s friend - Genesis 18:16-33; James 2:20-24
- God treated Moses like a friend - Exodus 33:7-11
- Jesus called his apostles friends - John 15:9-15
Life
God wants to be your life. By this we mean that he wants to be the source from which your life flows. We can see this in the following passages:
- Believing in Jesus leads to life - John 3:1-16; John 5:16-40
- God is a source of living water for us - John 4:1-14; John 7:37-39
Benefits of a Relationship With God
God has great things in store for those who enter into the relationship that he offers:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Romans 8:28-29 (Read this in its context: Romans 8:28-39)Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Revelation 21:1-8Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”
Revelation 22:1-6
Something To Consider
This is an amazing destiny! Did you know that God wants to be your father, your friend, and your life? Did you know that he has an amazing destiny in store for those who enter a relationship with him? Do you want that relationship? If so, keep reading and learn more about how a relationship with God works.
Next: Life Principle 3
How To Use This Material
Read the key passage above (2 Corinthians 5:11 - 6:2). If you came to this page for help in sharing the good news with others, encourage them to reflect on this passage.