That glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway. – Psalm 85.9-13
It seems like there are some people who might just be so bad that there is no chance that they could ever be saved. Some bad guys are so bad that there is surely no way that they can find salvation. We do a pretty good job of condemning the super wicked lost and seem unable to love their souls. But whats the point? This guys are just too wicked. Surely the fighters for daesh are just too wicked. Surely those perverts and child abusers are so far from the truth of the gospel that they cannot be saved.
For example, there was this guy from the Middle East whose job it was to hunt down and arrest and persecute Christians. Here is a guy who goes to the public executions of Christians and supports the stone throwers. He has a zeal for his task that no one can question. He is Christian enemy number one. He desires to get rid of Christians. Surely God could not save this guy.
Despite all that most readers will know that even this guy could be saved. Salvation was near to hand when Paul learned to fear God. Salvation was right there even for the evil man who was Paul.
God says ‘I am not a God who is far off.’ We also read ‘seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near.’
There is a great personal application here. God is also near to hand for us in the midst of our trouble. Deliverance is near. The trouble may still be there, but God is close to hand to deliver us from fear and anxiety and pressure. He is right there, even when He seems far away to us.
God is right there, for us and for those who ignore Him. There is always hope.
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