Take a moment to read Romans 10:14-21 before reading the devotional below.
You can’t pray to a God you don’t believe in. And you can’t believe what you don’t know about. Jesus gave his disciples some instructions before he returned to Heaven: go tell the world about me. Paul is fulfilling that mission and he is stressing the importance of all believers taking part in spreading the good news. Some, like Paul, need to be sent out to far-away places so that everyone gets the chance to hear about Jesus and have faith in him.
However, just because people hear about Jesus doesn’t mean they welcome him with open arms. The doors to the kingdom of God may be wide open, but not everyone wants to walk in. God has allowed people to reject him for all of human history, from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the Jewish people to Pharaoh to pagan cultures. God wants willingness to be a part of the rescue plan. He will not drag you onto the lifeboat. He simply saves a place for you.
Here’s your freedom for today: God’s arms will always be open for you. He is ready to embrace you every single day, whether you have accepted Jesus or not. Sometimes when we are followers of Jesus, we forget that God’s arms are always open. We get caught up in religious thinking (the very way of thinking Paul is trying to help us reject) and we start believing that our salvation is partly our job. Nope, it’s still all Jesus. For those who have rejected Jesus or simply not yet heard, God’s arms are open as well. The invitation does not expire or change. Today, right now, no matter what anything has looked like in your life until this exact minute, God is ready to embrace you. Will you let him hug you and comfort you today?