1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 NASB [9] For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, [10] who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. …
John 17:3 NASB This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
In the end, what is salvation all about? It is about God’s desire to have intimate fellowship with us for all of eternity. This is at the heart of eternal life; knowing God. The word “know” there in John 17 is the word that means “to experience someone.” God created us for love and intimacy, and therefore He created us for Him, for He is love. God is not a distant, angry autocrat who sees everything through the eyes of a perfectionist; instead He is a God with a hungry heart who on the cross, in the person of Christ, cried out “I thirst,” because of His infinite thirsting heart to be in a fellowship of love with you and me.
At the cross, it wasn’t just God’s justice that was satisfied, but it was primarily God’s love that was satisfied. God was willing for His only son to suffer our death, because God’s love could not bear the thought of an eternity without our fellowship. Some have called this the “divine madness” of God. The Cross did not change God’s heart towards man. It was God’s heart towards man that drove Jesus to the Cross in hope of changing our heart toward God. You and I were wired for an intimate love relationship with God, and because of that, you and I will never find heart satisfaction until we surrender to the glorious pursuit of loving God back, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Celebrate the journey you were apprehended for.