(Please read the passage cited above first.)
My sisters and brothers,
The mercy of God is large. When we were dead because of our sins, God gave us life with Christ and in Christ. God is rich in mercy. God chose us to be God’s people before we came to know God. God came to us before we could go to God. God took the initiative in coming to us. God came to us before we ever came to God.
God’s love is like the love of our parents. Our parents loved us before we could love them. Although we could not love them, through their example, we learned how to love them. By their love for us, they taught us how to love others. We love our parents because they first loved us.
In the desert, Moses lifted up the bronze serpent so that all the Israelites who were bitten by serpents could look on it and be cured.
The prophet first announced to the people their sins. Then he announced that God would save the people though Cyrus, the king of Persia. When and because they had no one to protect them, God saved the people from danger.
The Lord Jesus was lifted up so that all who believe in him would have eternal life.
God always does not wait for us, but God comes to us first. God always takes the initiative to come and save us.
The love and the mercy of God are generous: God gives us God’s gifts freely. We do not have to ask for them. In fact, we are saved by grace through faith; this is not our doing, but it is a gift from God. God is rich in mercy and we are nothing in our works. We deserve nothing because we have nothing except what God gives us. God gives us what we need so that we can receive more of what God wants to give us, namely life eternal.