“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30 ESV).
“I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 ESV).
My son Jonathan has always liked to run. When he was a toddler, you really had to keep your eye on him because he would run off and leave you without ever looking back.
He once scared us nearly to death at the local grocery store. We had just gotten him out of the shopping cart and turned to load the groceries, when he took off running across the parking lot. I sprinted to catch him just before he ran in front of a car.
I wonder who people would have blamed if he had been run over? Would they have said, “Tough luck. The kid shouldn’t have run. He should have listened better to his father.”
No. I think they would have blamed me. I know that I blamed myself for even letting it be such a close call. From that day forward, I always kept my hand on Jonathan. Sometimes he would take both of his little hands and try and pry loose, but I held firm. He was not getting free of my grip.
Isn’t that what good fathers do? They hold firmly to their child’s hand. They won’t let anyone “snatch them” from their protective grip.
And isn’t our God a great father? The Word says that He will not let anyone “snatch” those of us who belong to Him out of His hand. He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
I’ve never worried that God would leave me, but I have been concerned about myself. What if I decide to up and run off?
Well, God didn’t stutter when He said “never leave” and “never forsake.” The first means He won’t leave us. The second means that He won’t let go. He won’t forsake hanging on to us.
This is called the doctrine of eternal security. The idea is that the God who saved us by grace, keeps us by grace. For the Calvinist, this is the “P” in their “TULIP” (Perseverance of the saints). Although they are right to observe that those who are saved will persevere to the end, I think they are putting the emphasis in the wrong place. It isn’t the saint’s perseverance. It’s God’s. Eternal security puts the emphasis on Him, not us.
God just won’t let go of my hand.
Very comforting to be reminded of His abundant grace, promises, and protection, thank you very much.
I was waiting to hear the story about Jonathan wandering off down Chapparral Dr. and Stephen’s commentary..”There goes that Jon-a-fen walking down the street.” Love ya bunches, Sabra