“. . .and him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.”

John 6:37b

We need never fear if He’ll grow weary of us or stop loving us.

No more precious words have ever been said than those found in today’s Manna: “And him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” What does this mean to you, Pilgrim? Or, what should it mean to any “who come to Him”?

First, we should examine this “coming to Him.”

Jesus Himself said “No man can come to Me, except the Father Who has sent Me draw (Grk. ‘helkuo’—‘to take for one’s self, prefer, choose, etc.’) Him. . .” (Jn. 6:44a). Thus, it’s clear our “coming to Him” is at the initiative and invitation of the Father; yet, we also read that “God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). And, when we couple that with “Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13), we realize (as the song says), “Whosoever surely meaneth me.” Hallelujah!!

Thus, it’s clear Jesus’ invitation to “Come unto Me all you that labor and are heavy-laden” (Mt. 11:28a) means everyone. And, when they do—in simple, childlike faith and repentance—He has promised “in no wise cast out.” Or, another way to say it is “I will not, not cast out” or “I will never, never cast (Grk. ‘ekballo’—‘eject, throw away, reject, expel, leave behind, drive away, etc.’) out.”

But, what about those times we sin after we’re born from above?

Do not fear, weary one: “We have an Advocate before the Father” (I Jn. 2:1), Who pleads our case, points to His Blood and says “I will purge you with hyssop and you shall be clean; I will wash you and you shall be whiter than snow” (Ps. 51:7; Is. 1:18).

“To the praise of the glory of His Grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”

Ephesians 1:6

There’s nothing we can do to earn it; we must simply receive it and spend the rest of our lives in thanksgiving for it.

“Accepted in the Beloved.”

What do those words mean to you, Pilgrim? Even if you know the word “accepted” is the Greek word “charitoo” and means “to endue with special honor, highly favored, made acceptable, etc.” and comes from “charis,” which is the root word for Grace, how does it make you feel to know you’re “accepted in the Beloved”?

Think of it this way:

You’re a homeless beggar. . .living from hand-to-mouth on handouts from strangers. . . hopping boxcars to get from place-to-place. . . sleeping under overpasses or in hobo jungles and sometimes sleeping on pieces of cardboard over steam vents in the sidewalk on cold, winter nights.

But, one day a total stranger drives up in a big stretch limousine, gets out in his $900 suit, taps you on the shoulder and says “Come on, get in. I want you to come live with me in my 40,000 sq. ft., 50-room mansion. Everything I have will be at your disposal and you’ll never want for anything else the rest of your life.”

“. . .for therefore I have seen your face, as though I had seen the Face of God and you were pleased with me.”

Genesis 33:10b

If we’ve tasted of His Grace, we need not wonder what He’ll say to us when we finally see Him face-to-Face.

One of the hardest things we’ll ever have to do in life is look into the eyes of someone we’ve hurt or wronged and ask their forgiveness. Perhaps it was an accident or a misunderstanding—but, even now we can still see the pained look in their eyes and hear their deep groaning as they struggled to cope. And, the agony we feel is even worse if their pain was caused by some sin of commission on our part, knowing such words or deeds can never be taken back.

Although Jacob hadn’t really stolen Esau’s birthright (Gen. 25:27-34), he still knew how important that inheritance was to the oldest son; yet, he still used his brother’s character weakness to his advantage, which later contributed to his hatred toward him. And, he certainly knew it was wrong to deceive his blind father so he could steal Esau’s blessing, even though his mother put him up to it (27:1-30).

“And he said, ‘What do you mean by all this drove which I met?’ And he said, ‘These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.’ And Esau said, ‘I have enough, my brother; keep that you have to yourself.’ And Jacob said, ‘No, I pray you, if now I have found grace in your sight, then receive my present at my hand—for, therefore, I have seen your face, as though I had seen the face of God and you were pleased with me’.”

Genesis 33:8-10

Grace offered cannot be enjoyed until it’s received.

Nowhere in the Bible do we find a more beautiful picture of Grace-in-action than we do in the one described in today’s Manna. Esau had pledged over 20 years earlier to kill Jacob for stealing his birthright and blessing after their father, Isaac, died (Gen. 27:41). And, for 20 years Jacob had lived with the guilt of his treachery and the fear of his brother’s revenge.

No wonder he was nervous about returning home when God commanded him to do so (Gen. 31:3, 13). And, this fear was greatly heightened when he sent messengers back home to tell Esau he was coming—and learned that he was coming to meet him with 400 men (32:3-7)! We would have been, too!!

It’s also interesting to read Jacob’s description of himself and references to Esau during all this. Eight different times he refers to his brother as “my lord” (32:4-5, 18; 33:8, 13-15) and five times to himself as “your servant” (32:4, 18, 20; 33:5, 14). Quite a change from his previous shrewd, slick-talking ways, wasn’t it?

Such is always the case when Grace is in operation in our lives.

However, in Jacob’s case he still thought he had to appease Jacob by offering to him numerous gifts (32:5, 13-20; 33:8). They were his “bargaining chips,” if you will, so he might “find grace in Esau’s sight” (32:5b; 33:8, 10) and “be accepted by him” (32:20c).

Oh, dear Pilgrim, even though we know Grace “is God’s Gift of His Son, Jesus, which can’t be earned” (Jn. 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9), do we still act as Jacob did? Do we sometimes say, “I know God has forgiven me, but I can’t forgive myself?”

If so, do not be surprised if such fear often robs of His inward “love, joy, peace. . .” (Gal. 5:22-23). Ironically, it’s Esau. . .the one who’d vowed to kill Jacob. . .who showed great Grace in their reunion. Like the prodigal son’s father, he “ran to meet Jacob, embraced him, hugged him and kissed him as they both wept” (33:4; Lk. 15:20).