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Jesus said, “Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. . . No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Jesus and his cross are natural stumbling blocks to sinners like us. Why, then, do we believe something that seems so silly? Jesus explained when he prayed, “Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. . . No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

To be sure, God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). That’s why he sacrificed his beloved Son to be “the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). God is so patient and long-suffering with the people of this world that he even plays the part of the fool, holding out his hands “all day long…to a disobedient and obstinate people” (Roman 10:21), only to have those hands remain mostly empty because so many reject his free gift of forgiveness.

Is that God’s fault? Hardly! Jesus has won mankind’s salvation completely, yet God forces no one to be saved. Instead, he works mysteriously and powerfully through his Word and Spirit. Through his Word, he shatters our pride and self-reliance, then calls us to trust in him and to see the glory of Christ’s cross.

So, our Christian faith is no accident. It’s God’s purposeful choice. “The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Thank you, Jesus, for graciously leading me to trust in you through the gospel. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.