John 6:44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
How is it that you and I came to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Was it
because we were smarter than others? The folks Jesus was talking to were
some of the smartest people in the land of that day; yet they were unable to
take hold of these sayings of Jesus. Was it because we were in the right place
at the right time? Again, these folks were face to face with the very Son of
God, Jesus Christ; yet, they could not comprehend what was being said. Was it
because we made the right decision to follow Him? Let's think about the
disciples of Jesus for a moment. They were content in their own mode of living
and not looking for anything else, until Jesus came to them and drew them to
Himself by saying, "Follow me."
What is the power by which we are able to come to Jesus? Let me just plainly
say, it is not within ourselves. Let's look at today's passage of
Scripture. Jesus began by saying, "No man can come to me." Can you
imagine how it would be if His statement stopped just there. That would mean,
neither you nor I would be in the family of God. Jesus begins the statement by
letting us know it is not of ourselves that we are followers of the Lord Jesus.
That being true, what then enabled us to come to the place where we are living
with Jesus? He gives the answer: the Father drew us to Christ. He does that by
the means of the Holy Spirit of God giving us new life.
This was plainly declared even in the Old Testament. "The LORD hath
appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." (Jeremiah 31:3)
This passage not only tells us that the Father drew us, but also tells us the
motivation for His drawing us to Himself is found within Himself. "Yea, I
have loved thee with an everlasting love." Did you hear that? God,
the Creator of the Universe, is telling us that He has always loved us. Even
when we felt ourselves to be unlovable, God loves us. It is a love with no
beginning and no end. Because of that wonderful amazing saving love, God drew
us unto Himself, to Christ Jesus, with gentle lovingkindness. That tells me
that because of that love, God began changing us from the inside out. He gave
us a new heart. He changed our way of thinking and even changed our desires. We
aren't perfect, but the Lord is taking us to perfection.
We will be made perfect "at the last day" when Jesus raises us from
this old earth and transports us into heaven's glory. At that time, we shall be
made to be in the exact image of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. What a day
that will be!
To close my thoughts, I want to say I am so very thankful that my coming to
Christ was not left up to me. I am not smart enough to make that kind of
eternity changing decision. I am thankful that my Heavenly Father has always loved
me and always will love me. I am thankful He gently brought me to Christ Jesus.
I am thankful Jesus loves me so much that He went to the cross to die for me. I
am thankful the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse me and make me whole. I
am so thankful to my Heavenly Father! Aren't you?