The Father in heaven has great love for His children. The Lord God is a merciful God, choosing the least of peoples for His own. He chooses the insignificant, the downcast, the vile, the desperate, and the unregarded. There is no sinner too great for the love of the Father. He seeks to work in us and through us, drawing near to us as we cry out to Him for mercy each day. And He only requires of us a daily abiding love for Him, which is not burdensome or heavy, and even that requirement is made possible as a gift by grace through faith. Consider the words of our Savior,
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:27-30 ESV)
Those that know the Father know Him because the Son has chosen to reveal the Father to them. This knowledge is a gift of grace. The call to know the Father through the Son is given to all. It is a gentle and gracious calling for all to find their rest in Christ, whereby the righteousness of God and the pursuit of holiness grants rivers of peace and rest in one’s heart, as they turn away from the burdensome nature of sin. Sin wastes away life, but righteousness restores the soul and heals the mind, as Solomon himself learned by inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,
but envy makes the bones rot. (Proverbs 14:30 ESV)
To turn away from the desires of the world, to turn away from sin and living for self, to pursue the fear of God, these are what will bring healing to one’s soul and refreshment of one’s mind. Sin brings envy and causes rottenness of the bones, but the peace of God heals in the pursuit of goodness and truth.
The pursuit of God will be hard. Jesus Himself said that the way is hard that leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14). The world will hate us for loving God. The world will reject and despise His Word. But do not lose heart in doing good, for in due time, we will reap (cf. Galatians 6:7-9). If you fall, get up. Keep going. Keep pursuing the peace of God in your heart. Fight. Do not be slothful in zeal. Be fervent in spirit. (Romans 12:11) Be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:19) As the apostle Paul said,
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)
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