Today's encouragement comes from Jeremiah 31:3, where these uplifting 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 of divine love 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 elect is bound up in Christ; and it was firmly establish-ed before The Holy Trinity ever created anything. And based on this sove-reign and gracious decree, God "draws" His children, irresistibly, to Himself, in Jesus, according to His perfect pleasure, time, and plan.
Let us be thankful that ours is a God of love. Without this love perfectly ex-pressed in Christ, 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 up-braids a penitent with former unkindnesses.” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Mis-chief of Sin"]
