The highest King loves you so much that He took it upon Himself to pay the penalty you deserve. The Creator of the universe entered into His creation in the form of a man, so that you could percieve His holiness and witness His love firsthand. In doing so, we have been reconciled to God through Christ Jesus.
Contemplate the perfection of God’s redemptive plan for mankind. Our Creator didn’t appear before us as an emperor or a theologian with a PhD in religious studies. He never led an army to drive out evil, nor did He incarnate as a charismatic super hero with supernatural demonstrations of His omnipotence.
He chose to reveal righteousness through humility, compassion, servitude and love by helping the less fortunate, healing sickness, blindness and the crippled, and even restoring life to the dead (Matthew 11:5). Then He ultimately paid the debt humanity could not pay by sacrificing Himself as the atonement for our sins.
The Almighty God, who spoke the universe into existence, executed the perfect redemptive plan for a humanity that continually rejects Him and sins against Him. Genesis 6:5 reveals that, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become , and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Yet our Creator has exercised incredible restraint by not wiping all of humanity from the face of the earth.
When you consider the detestable contemplations of the human heart: its capability to dishonor God and cultivate hate, premeditate murder, commit adultery, abuse the helpless, lie, steal and continually rebel against our Creator, you realize that despite it all, His love for us is so profound that He suffered and died so that we could spend eternity with Him. How can you not concede that His deep affection for mankind is beyond our comprehension?
The Love Of Christ
Think about it. The love of Christ exceeded what any fictional writer could ever imagine and we hated Him for it. And many still do! With every crack of the whip that tore his back apart He endured the Roman flogging because of His love for us. In humiliation, He had a crown of thorns jammed onto his head. He was spat upon, punched and forced to carry the instrument of His death until He could no longer bear its weight. Yet He did not resist. Why? Love.
With each thud of the Roman hammer that drove the nails through his wrists and feet, He accepted the fate that we deserved. Why? Because of His love for us. When Jesus was arrested, He said, “Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). Yet He did not make that call.
Jesus freely laid down His life (John 10:18) and submitted to His Father’s will as an obedient Son. This wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination and with great anguish, Jesus prayed, not once, but three times, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42). He willingly divested His own desire and His capitulation to the Father’s wishes was absolute. During His interrogation, He did not open His mouth in His defense. His silence must have been particularly deafening to those who witnessed the courtroom drama.
The words of Jesus in John 15:13 carry profound impact. He declared, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Then He followed up that proclamation by carrying out the very act He spoke of. He not only talked the talk but He walked the walk.
1 John 4:9-10 proclaims, “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” So when John states that God is love, we can comprehend the great lengths He went to so we could receive the fullness of His love.
God’s Love
God’s love for us is immeasurable, inexhaustible, undefinable, unsearchable, remarkable and insurmountable. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, the apostle Paul writes of the power of love. He is speaking of the altruistic, selfless, unconditional, empathetic, complete love that will lead you to lay down your own life in love. The agape love that Christ extends to us.
And more than laying down His life for His friends, Jesus laid down His life for His enemies. Paul writes in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Knowing we were incapable of loving God so earnestly of our own accord, He initiated love in Christ and through Christ. Because Christ lives, love is alive!
We are called to love God and love our fellow man, and when we love our fellow man, we are loving God. The Bible says that when Jesus judges the world, He will separate the people as a shepherd separates sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-45), and those who showed compassion to the needy will be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven. “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” (Matthew 25:40).
James wrote that whoever not only hears the word but does what it says will be blessed (James 1:22-25) and and in James 2:17-23, he states that faith without action is dead. There is a difference between knowing the right thing to do and doing the right thing. True love spawns acts of love.
My perspicacity regarding these observations has compelled me to respond with intent. On Friday evenings I go into prisons and minister to inmates, which has been a most profound blessing. I have been truly humbled by these encounters and can testify that they underscore the concept of loving others as Christ loves us.
Years ago, I wrote a song entitled, “Make Me An Instrument of Your Love.” And now realizing that God has done exactly that is a penetrating awakening. My journey of faith has included set backs and obstacles as I have experienced spiritual attack and the darkness of hopelessness in my life. In hindsight I recognize these experiences have equipped me to help others struggling in darkness.
Paul admonished believers in Romans 12:1-2: “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
By surrendering every corner of my life to Christ, I can say with certainty that this is the hallmark of true love. The most liberating thing about dying to self is the freedom we have from the bondage to sin. The wholesome, unadulterated purity of mind, body and soul. The peace that transcends all human understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). When we can walk in the light of Christ daily, knowing He drives out the darkness before us, His love surrounds us and becomes the impetus of our purpose.
1 Peter 2:24 concisely sums up this profound realization: “‘He Himself bore our sins’ in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by His wounds we are healed.'” We can never repay Jesus for what He did for us but the reciprocity of our love for Him leads us to honor Him and glorify Him through word and deed.
There is something deeply moving about God’s methodologies that penetrates to the very core of my soul. He instils love in those who serve Him and He compels His children to share His love. We give freely because we have been freely given. That is the living water that Jesus told the Samaritan woman about in John 4:10-14 and it leads to eternal life.
God Is Love
1 John 4:16 teaches us, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” Furthermore, God’s love is as extreme as His patience with humanity. He is long-suffering, knowing the evil hearts of mankind, and He withholds His judgement from the earth as He waits for people to repent.
2 Peter 3:9 states, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” He waited for me and He waits for you.
There is no greater love than the love that God offers through our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Language cannot even begin to express the magnitude of His deep affection for man. Cory Asbury’s lyrics paint a portrait of God’s amazing love for us. “Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine. I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away…”
Indeed. God loves us more than love.
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