Exodus 19:1–6 In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on the very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Math was always one of my best subjects, and I enjoyed it. I started out my undergraduate studies in engineering, and when I switched to Elementary Education in preparation to attend the seminary, I still had a concentration in math. One of the courses I took was a computer programming class which involved as lot of logic equations. For me, that was a lot of fun. One of the things we learned was “if – then” statements, also known as conditional statements. If this, then that. When the “if” condition is true, “then” will be the result.

There is a conditional statement in the passage above.

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.

Because this is from the Old Testament, many think it is Law, telling us what we must do to earn our salvation. But that is not the case. God knows we are not capable of earning His favor in our fallen, sinful condition. That is why He sent Jesus. He places such a high value on you that He was willing to do whatever it took so that you could be bought back from your sinful condition and restored to the position of His dearly loved children, His treasured possession. The “if” part about obeying and keeping His covenant boils down to this: believing God’s promise that He will forgive you for any and all sins if you put your faith and confidence in Jesus. It is not what you do, but what Jesus did for you that earned this for you.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

This is hard for the world to accept. In fact, it is impossible to believe unless the Spirit of God works in them. But for those who have been led to believe through the Word, for those who have placed their trust in Jesus, it gives comfort and strength for living now and confidence of life everlasting. It also gives us the motivation to love and treat others in a way that will let them in on this good thing we have.

There are a lot of folks out there who are lost and hurting and angry at Christ and His church. Some of them sometimes post comments on my devotions using foul language and accuse me of simply trying to get money or mislead people. I make note of their names and pray for them, that God would put someone in their lives to show them the love of God in Christ and open the door for them to believe in Jesus, too.  Maybe you can be that person for someone. If you do, then the Spirit of God will have the chance to work in their hearts.