lifting words are found:
"The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.' "
Without this promise there would never be any hope for any of God's people. God's love for His church is not conjured-up in space and time; it is not a result of anything "good" in us, that draws His attention. Instead, God's affection for His people was firmly established before He ever created anything. And based on this, He "draws" His children, irresistibly, to Himself, according to His perfect time and plan.
Let us be thankful that ours is a God of love. Without this love, there would be nothing to live for.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Sinner, the day you leave your sins and set upon a course of holiness, God will pardon all that is past. . . . The Lord never upbraids a penitent with former unkindnesses." --Thomas Watson, in, "The Mischief of Sin"]
