Galatians 5:8
“This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.”
I want to investigate this verse, not so much for it's direct meaning, but what it implies. What was going on in Galatia wasn't the type of persuasion that God does. However, there are ways in which the Lord seeks to persuade us, godly persuasion. Hosea 11:4a says, "I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love...". This is what the Lord does with us. His primary tool is love.
John 3:16 spells it out in the plainest sense, "For God so loved the world that He gave His Son that whosoever should in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." That was the greatest gift that could have been given, His Son. The amazing thing was that God knew this would be the case before creation. Yet, He so wanted to enter a relationship with us that He continued with the plan.
It wasn't just the Father, but Jesus was in agreement as well. They so wanted to know us that to them it was worth it. The Lord's work didn't end there. It continues today. Drawing us with His cords of love continues. We may feel badly, unclean or guilty, but He is there with us. He sees things differently. He has hope whatever our state.
The Lord will use other means to persuade us. Sometimes our attention is needed. Disruption comes our way. He does this when we are on the wrong path and need rescuing. To the individual it could be chaos and desperation. They could be praying for a resolution. That's a start. God is more interested in the righting of a life, than a repair.
This type of persuasion is required when one isn't open. Hebrews 5:11 says, "of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing." The Lord wants us listening and seeking. We are to be open and desirous of His input.
He has earned that. His love has gone to the greatest lengths and that's only the start. He wants to bless and fill us. Hebrews 11:6 tells us what our attitude is to be, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Many avoid God as they think they will need to give up all that's fun. While some things will need to be abandoned, the Lord wants to fill us with joy. As we follow Him we learn that He is a rewarder of those that seek Him.
When a believer is at this point, life is a joy. We don't fear obedience. While it may mean putting aside our plan, we've learned that He will reward our obedience. He initially rewards us with that satisfaction. We aren't wrestling with guilt as we do when we won't obey. We usually aren't mourning the sacrifice our plans, as we've learned to let it go. Then there's the actual rewards that come. They show up in a myriad of ways. All of this is another way in which the Lord persuades us.
The Lord uses us to persuade others to join. Here's Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:11, "Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade people, but we are well known to God; and I hope that we are also well known in your consciences". Our reasons to do so are strong. First off, it's because He asks us to and puts others before us. In time we want to share as it's the best thing that's happened to us. If they knew what we know, they would be approaching us.
Unfortunately, there is opposition to God's good news. The devil seeks to thwart the Lord's efforts. Like a criminal might take a child of the wealthy to leverage them. So the devil enjoys destroying lives knowing this hurts the Lord. God wants us to join Him is persuading others to go to God. In 2 Corinthians 5:19, Paul calls it the message of reconciliation.
This is such a demonstration of His patience. Many of us ignored His calling for a long time. Yet He continued to reach out. While this probably did hurt Him, He still was seeking to persuade us. He would engineer circumstances and create another invitation. Many of us took Him up on His offer. Looking back we now wonder why we took so long. Much heart ache and pain could have been avoided.
The Lord's efforts to persuade also go to His children. He seeks to bring us ever closer. Just as unbelievers will ignore and harden their hearts, so can we. He seeks to create just the environment to relax us and open our hearts. What an amazing God. So patient.
Lord, thank You for going to such lengths and showing much patience.