Jesus extends to us the greatest invitation the world has ever known. It is an invitation to know an all-loving, ever-present, always faithful God. It is a summons to experience the full forgiveness of a gracious Savior. 

Yet to know the value of this priceless invitation, we have to recognize how lost and hopeless we truly are without Christ. The Bible tells us that there is no one who is righteous and who does good for pure motives. We all have turned away from God and have gone our own way. Without faith it is impossible to please God. All of our attempts at righteousness to gain a good standing before God are like filthy, disgusting rags in His sight. Our sin against a holy God condemns us eternally. We all fully deserve the wrath of God.

This is how good and kind our God is though: not only does He extend to us the greatest invitation, He gives us the ability and desire to accept it. Without the power of God, we will always flee from the light for when we live in darkness, we fear the light exposing us. No one comes to Christ unless they are drawn by the Father. We love Jesus because He first loved us. Our salvation does not depend on our effort but on God’s mercy. When we come into a saving knowledge of Christ, we will be given a new heart with new desires to live for the glory of God.

When we accept this great invitation, our eyes will be opened to the worth of Jesus and who we are in comparison to His beauty and perfection.Yet we will have no fear for we’ll be assured that Jesus has gifted to us His righteousness in exchange for our sin and shame. Our sin will be buried in the deepest sea, it is gone forever! We will know the fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord.  There is truly nothing better than knowing and serving Jesus. He brings unexplainable hope and peace, He comforts us in all of our sorrows, and He fills each day with meaning and purpose. The steadfast loving-kindness and mercy of God will hold us secure every good and bad day of our life. Then after we will have the wonders of heaven to look forward to.

If you hear this invitation and understand your need for the Savior, do not harden your heart. We will all stand before the Lord one day and have to give an account for our lives. In that moment, all that will matter is this: Did you, through faith by grace, turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. Does your life bear evidence of a new heart? From start to finish, our salvation is a precious gift from God; and may we all respond to and accept this great, most important invitation.