For the record

No one wants to come to Christ.  There is nothing in us that wants God.  There is no one born righteous, not even one.  We all like sheep have gone astray.  We are born in sin.

There is one way and only one way people come to Christ:  He draws them.  He calls them.  He chooses them.

We take zero credit for our salvation, for wanting God, for seeking God.  It is all God's doing.

What about the "religious" people who faithfully worship at church, temple, mosque, or what have you, every week?  Oh that part is easy.  Anyone can set their alarm, wake up, and get themselves just about anywhere. Perhaps God is drawing them.  Or maybe they are "going to church" to win brownie points with God, curry His favor by their "good" behavior.  That won't fly.

I don't make these things up!  It's all in the Bible, dear ones.

You are reading this for a reason.  Perhaps God is drawing you now, by His Holy Spirit.  If you do not belong to Him yet, something is missing in your life.  You know this.  

We are born to be reborn!  Of course the devil is going to make a mockery of the term "born again."  But those are Jesus' words, so of course the devil is jealous.  

When the Lord found me, when I became born again, I was alone in my apartment way back in 1987.  I wasn't really sure what was happening, all I know is that I could not stop crying.  Then, I felt such peace as never before.  I believe my tears were me feeling the weight of all my sin being lifted from me.  I didn't know I was carrying around such a heaviness.  After all, I was a "good" person, I was raised Lutheran, and I did my best to live a good life.  Yet there I was, weeping in His perfect Presence.

Mine was not a dramatic conversion of a drug addict on skid row who is found by Christ - such a drastic turnaround.  But truth is, even "good" people need the Lord!

Your conversion experience may be subtle or not so subtle. You may not "feel" anything at all.  I don't know if you will cry.  Everyone has a unique story of how Christ found them.  What a beautiful thing that is!  No cookie cutter way, indeed.

So for the record, if you feel any tug in your heart at all toward Christ, He gets all the glory.  Once you are His, you will want to tell others!  At least I did.  I couldn't contain the miracle, the joy, this newfound peace and rightness in my soul; not me being "right," but a settled sense, like being right in the mind, right in your soul.

Things were hunky dory for a long stretch.  God answered my prayers left and right.  I was part of a loving church family.  Life was good.

It wasn't until years later when I really began to know God.  This happened not through answered prayers and "good times," but through pain and suffering, through rejection and misunderstandings, through really hard things.

Sure, I could have walked away.  There is always a choice.  Remember, Judas walked away.  Peter, too, but he came back (smart fellow).  It was Peter who spoke to Jesus in John 6:68, "Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'"

So we wisely stay with Christ through seemingly unbearable trials and tribulations because there is nowhere else to go and our soul knows this full well.

We gain a super-longterm perspective, an eternal perspective, about life.  We know that all that we face and endure in this life will be as nothing compared to the glory, love, joy, and magnitude of the blessings that await us with Christ Jesus.

He gives us just a taste here and now.  The Kingdom of God is here already!  But only in part, and sort of muted.  The Kingdom of God showed up when God, in Christ, entered space and time as a baby.  Now, His Kingdom lives inside us in the form of the Holy Spirit.  And when we let His Spirit reign in us, we are living in His Kingdom riches here and now!  What a deal! 

So you see even these words here, though hopefully filled with His Spirit, cannot persuade you to come to Christ unless He is wooing you to Himself through them, through His love, through His power, and grace.

May He so woo you!

Oh Lord.  Oh that everyone would come to know You!  They would discover everything their hearts, souls, and minds could ever hope, want, or dream of.  Please, sweet Lord, bring whomever is reading these words right now into Your fold, Your Kingdom, Your righteousness.  For there is nowhere else to go but to You for eternal life, for a life worth living.  I love You, Jesus.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.