I read a wonderful quote the other day, saying that faith is important, but that faith is subordinate to grace. I love that! The wonderful news is of what God has already accomplished through Christ in saving us, and this wonderful news does bring a personal response from us, of faith. You could even call it our choice to believe, to see the truth. Yet our faith, our choice to believe, our seeing reality is all subordinate to HIS faith (His belief about us!), His choice to save and keep us, HIS reality!
So in the end, I think that even if we don't have faith, even if we don't see the whole truth of what He did and don't completely experience it on earth, still HIS grace will carry us through. For we are saved by grace, not our faith! Yes, through faith, but it is BY grace! In the end, it's all wrapped up in Him and we are safe and secure, whether we see it right now on this earth or not.
I think that at death, all will have any last confusion and blinder removed and everyone will see reality, see that they are safely home with Him, and all will naturally believe and trust and love God! Because deep down, that's how we have been made, made to experience His love and be in a trusting love relationship with Him, and that's what our hearts long for and reach out for, and once we truly see the truth of His unconditional love and union closeness with us, we will naturally love and trust Him back and get to really and fully enjoy the union we have with Him, the love He has for us, the joy of His life in us!
I believe the ultimate responsibility in salvation doesn't lie with us but with God. HE is so big and so loving and so smart and so gracious that He is able to work it out so that all will see the truth and willingly, voluntarily come to Him in love and joy and trust! He has rescued, forgiven and saved us all, even from before time began that has been true, set in spiritual concrete, so our ultimate salvation has always been sure and certain.
We will all eventually wake up and see that. I think God will bring all to see this, as the verse says, 'to make all men see,' and He will bring all to willingly have faith and all will willingly worship and love Him, as it says, 'every eye will see and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God,' and that He will do this without violating anyone's free will, for all will come joyfully and voluntarily, as the verse says, 'they will volunteer freely in the day of Your power!' And this will be true for everyone, I truly believe! As the verse says, 'all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord!'
God won't lose even one of His sometimes wayward children. He wouldn't be happy or able to really rest till all were safely home, so that is why He brought us all home through Jesus' finished work! We are all just waking up to see where we already are and what's already happened to us - by grace! And it is by grace that all will eventually wake up and see this truth, and willingly enjoy this reality, see that we are all already forgiven and reconciled, rescued and safe, all already sitting on Papa's lap, loved and embraced and HOME, always and forever, no matter what!
