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Repentance
17
of the righteousness of Christ. They cry out, “What is sin? Why did
Christ have to die? Was all this love and suffering demanded to save
our lives? Did He suffer all this so that we could have everlasting
life?”
The sinner may resist God’s love and refuse to be drawn to
Christ, but if he does not resist, he will be drawn to Him. He will
learn about God’s plan to save sinners. He will come to the cross
and repent of the sins that caused the sufferings of God’s dear Son.
The same God who controls nature speaks to the hearts of people.
He gives them a great desire for something they do not have. The
things of the world cannot satisfy this desire. God is telling people
to find the grace of Christ and the joy of holiness. These alone can
bring peace and rest.
Our Saviour is trying all the time to draw people’s minds away
from worldly pleasures to the wonderful blessings that Christ can
give. To these people who are trying to find water in the dry wells
of the world, He says, “Come, whoever is thirsty; accept the water
of life as a gift, whoever wants it.”
Revelation 22:17
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If you have a desire for something better than the world can give,
this is God speaking to you. Ask Him to give you repentance and
show you Christ in His infinite love and perfect purity.
The Saviour’s life makes plain that the law of God is based on
love to God and other people. To be unselfish, loving, and kind was
what Jesus lived for. So, as we look at our Saviour and light from
Him falls on us, we see how sinful we really are.
We may feel, as Nicodemus did, that our lives are good and that
we do not need to humble ourselves before God like a common
sinner. But when the light from Christ shines into our hearts, we see
that we are not pure. We see that we are enemies of God and that
every act of life is selfish. When we see His righteousness, we shall
know that “even our best actions are filthy through and through.”
Isaiah 64:6
. Only Christ’s sacrifice can take away our sins and make
us clean. Only Christ can change our lives until we are like Him.
One ray of light from God’s glory shows every spot and weak-
ness in our character. One brief view of the purity of Christ makes
our lives look unclean. It shows plainly that we have evil desires,
unfaithful hearts, and impure speech. We see that we are not obeying
God’s law. As the Spirit of God searches our hearts, we feel unhappy