“And now,
Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the
world began.” (John 17:5)
We will never
fully understand the extent of the sacrifice God made in the gospel without
understanding the immensity of the love/bond that exists within the Trinity—the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—from all eternity.
On the cross
Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46b) And that was the greatest demonstration of
love to have ever taken place. The Triune God willingly endured such cruel and
violent separation for our sakes in the central event of all history, the
cross.
G.K. Chesterton
called this the “furious love of God.” I
believe the hardest thing in the world for human beings to believe is that God
loves us so much and wants us to be reconciled to Him. The Christian life begins with the love of
God. Throughout his writings the Apostle
John was moved to refer to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”
We all have a
love; a need that can only be met by the unfaltering, unchangeable love of God.
Our deepest emotional and spiritual needs are never met by material things such
as prestige or power, exhilarating experiences, beauty, or human love. All of
our human desires and longings are only symptoms of our need for Him. Psalm 42:1 expresses this need, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” He Himself is the Bread of Life and the Water
of Life.
When we are
gripped by the love of God, He frees us from being emotionally and spiritually
crippled. When we realize how we are
loved, then we can stop loving ourselves and start loving others. He enables us to love others, even our
enemies. When old age, life-threatening illness, or danger threatens us, we can
look with confidence to God’s loving promise of eternal life with Him.
The love of God
gives us purpose. The purpose for our lives grows out of His love. He liberates
us from self-love. Our love relationship with God rules our relationships with
others. He enables us to begin to love unlovable sinners as He loves us. When
we are angry, depressed, struggling, feeling insecure, we can bring these
things to Him. He cares about every aspect of our lives. When our sins and
fears are petty and downright embarrassing, we can come clean with Him, for He
is the Sinner’s Friend.
I believe He
wants to see our lives, like John’s, stuck on one theme: the unfailing and
limitless love of God.
Can God change your life?
God has made it possible for you to know
Him, and experience an amazing
change in your own life.
change in your own life.
Discover how you can find peace with God.
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