There is no way to express just how much God wants every person to be in heaven. The fact that He worked for 4,000 years to get everything ready to announce His plan on Pentecost shows the love He has for the lost. So, instead of just quoting John 3:16 from rote memory, take time to read every word of this well-known verse. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It is this story of love which prompts mankind to become Christians, but the story does not end when one becomes His child. He has surrounded the lost with His family, where, in worship, we teach and admonish each other in singing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). He has designed worship around a table of remembrance, which, as we remember Christ’s suffering, makes us to be “neither barren nor unfruitful” (2 Pet. 1:8, 9). The nature of preaching is to bring edification, exhortation and comfort (1 Cor. 14:3). Is there any aspect of worship which is not characterized by bringing about spiritual growth? God really wants the lost to be saved and has designed a perfect plan to insure that those who are saved remain faithful.
Take time to see the implication that God really wants every person to be in heaven.
When God lived among us, He longed for the salvation of those who mocked Him, spat in His face, struck Him, scourged Him and abused Him beyond our ability to imagine the cruelty of man. Yet, His dying prayer was for their salvation. He could have railed against them, rebuked their hypocrisy, asked for God’s vengeance, but His prayer came again and again, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” If God longed for such vile men to be His eternal companions, there can be no doubt that He really wants every person to be saved.
The implication of this truth is to look inward to ask the question, “Just how much do I want the world to be saved?” Are there those we meet whom we immediately dismiss as potential family members, thinking that they would never change? Are there times when we get so busy or frustrated we fail to “see souls”? Have we ever prayed for the lost that God might forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing? When we discover that His purpose in life was to “seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10), do we think about what our purpose in life might be? When we think that Jesus left the glories of heaven to live for more than thirty years on this wretched planet, do we ever consider getting out of our comfort zone to find the lost?
He really wants all men to be saved! Do you?