1. You were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Humans have an exalted place among God’s creation. The fact that you have been created in His image means you are precious to Him.
2. God loves you personally and individually. God’s love for us is a thread that runs throughout the Bible (Jeremiah 31:3, John 3:16, I John 4:7). Never lose sight of the reality that God’s love reaches down to each of us. Also, His love is pure. That is, God does not tell us, “I’ll love you if . . .” God loves us because love is His nature (I John 4:8).
3. God wants you to be saved. God does not want you to be eternally lost in Hell. The apostle Paul declared concerning our heavenly Father, “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4). Indeed, the Lord is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9). But God will not save anyone against their will. We must respond in loving obedience to Him (Matthew 7:21; 11:28-30).
4. God desires your involvement in His work. The apostle Paul reminded Christians, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). This is not meant to suggest that our good works saves us. In fact, the previous statement is made in the context of Paul emphasizing that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8 & 9). The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58).
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