He Chose Us

God has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”—Hebrews 13:5

Prior to the cross, Jesus endured hours of agonizing physical and emotional torture. Yet not once did he cry out. It was not until that culminating pain of separation from God that the heart of Jesus broke.

Jesus took upon Himself every sin, every pagan inclination, and all that is unholy in creation, and he died for it. For Jesus, the greatest hurt was the momentary abandonment from God, his Father. It happened because God, in his holiness, cannot look upon sin. When Jesus became the embodiment of sin, he was rejected. He was abandoned. He was ditched.

If you can identify with that feeling, you’re not alone. But I’ve got great news for you. Jesus’ separation from God—and ours—was bridged immediately the moment that sin-debt was paid. He was instantly restored to full correctedness with his Father. It’s absolutely mind-boggling: we too are instantly awarded full family membership the moment we confess our sin and receive the forgiveness for which Jesus died.

That means we will never be abandoned by him. We will never be a throwaway from him. We will never be rejected by him. We’ll never be ditched by him. We didn’t get left by him. He chose us. He loves us and will never leave us.

—Marilyn Meberg
Excerpted from A Grand New Day © 2008 by Thomas Nelson. Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Used with permission. All rights reserved.