His Heart is Wide Open

By Hazel Holland

Today I had problems painting this watercolor.  I kept getting my hand in the wet paint because the size of the painting was larger than what I'm used to.  I had chosen to increase the size of the paper because I wanted to have a larger space to paint hearts reaching up to Him.  But after I finished the painting I reduced the size of it, because not only was it too busy, but it seemed like it might be a distraction for this post.

You will remember that at the moment of Jesus' death the the veil of the temple was split in two.  This was God's dramatic way of telling the world that for all time and for all people the way into His heart is wide open to everyone.  God is not planning revenge towards those who gathered around the cross in hatred towards Him.  Neither is He planning to judge you because of your sins of selfishness, pride, or indifference towards Him.

The rending of the veil means that the penalty for all sin has been paid once and for all.  The way into God's heart is wide open because Jesus paid the penalty for the hateful, the cruel, and the ignorant.  The way into His presence is wide open to all of us, in spite of the wrong attitudes we so frequently have toward Him.  Since God holds no grudges against anyone, He is waiting to restore the hopeless, the helpless and those who are filled with fear.   He is longing to reconcile each one of us to Himself.

God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God in Christ.  To me there is no greater wonder in all of the universe than this.  If this isn't the greatest gift that God gave you then perhaps you haven't yet grasped the astounding impact, and timeless benefit of Christ's death for you.

God's heart is wide open to you continually.  If you've been building up treasure here, know that His heart is a far greater treasure awaiting you.  As you catch a glimpse of His goodness you'll see that you've already been forgiven.  So let Him wash away your guilt with His love so that you are able to receive His spotless heart.♥