When I first met Buddy, he was in a cage at the dog festival in Enumclaw, Washington. I had no feelings for him, only a desire to have a Silky terrier in my life and to give a rescue dog a forever home. I thought, “I’ll learn to love you,” when looking at those sad, scared eyes.
My desire to adopt and protect him had zero to do with how good, special or personable Buddy was. It was based solely on my desire to have a Silky in my life, to have a companion dog.
When the nation of Israel was in bondage to Egyptian slavery, God desired to rescue them from His final judgment on the Egyptian nation and its false gods, known popularly as the Tenth Plague: “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. (Exodus 12:12).”
And what would save each Hebrew family from this plague? A seemingly odd request: “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb.
“You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.
“For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your house to smite you (Exodus 12:21-23).”
I have a black and white illustration of this event, with the blood on the lintel and doorposts colored in red. It is a daily reminder to me that, just as the blood around the doors of the ancient homes saved the Hebrew families from God’s wrath, so the blood of Jesus Christ—the Lamb of God—is on the lintel and doorposts of my own heart, protecting me from God’s punishment for sin.
Just like the ancient Israelites, I’m not protected by how good I am or how well I perform each day. God did not demand that the Jewish people clean up their act or obey certain moral rules to escape punishment; they only had to obey one request, apply the blood of an innocent lamb to their home’s entrance.
God loves and accepts me, not because I perform well each day—I don’t—but because He offered to love me and adopt me into His family, taking me into His eternal home one day. I accepted His invitation—that the blood of Jesus was shed for the payment and forgiveness of my sin.
And because of the blood of the Holy Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, I am loved and accepted.
God’s acceptance of me is not based upon my own performance, but the perfect life of Jesus, His performance under the Law of God.
Please consider how the First Passover illuminates God’s love and acceptance of you as a child of the living God. He loves you because you accepted His love, not because He expects you to be perfect.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
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You don’t have to clean up your act first to come into a relationship with the Living God. You just need to humble yourself, acknowledging that it’s impossible to be good enough to enter Heaven on your own merits, and accept that He alone is God and has the right to rule your life, as your Creator.
If you’re willing to enter into a personal love relationship with the holy, Triune God, please repeat the following prayer. It’s not about being good enough, but about admitting you need His love, protection and guidance.
Dear Holy Father, I call on Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive all my sins. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Reveal Yourself to me. In the name of Jesus, amen.
If you prayed with sincerity, congratulations: You are a child of God, adopted into His family. “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”—Apostle Peter, Acts 2:21
Please find a Bible-based church to fellowship and grow in a knowledge of God. If that’s not possible right now, these are three ministries that I recommend. Though there are others, these are my favorites: http://www.LTW.org, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.BasicGospel.net. All three also have apps.
God bless you! See you in Heaven!
Meditations About God and Buddy 