An unfathomable sacrifice

Colossians 1: 15-18 (MSG) “We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.”

He stepped out of His perfect heaven to set an example for us to follow and to show His love for us all. He didn’t come into this world ruling with an iron fist or clothed in the adorning robes of kings and princes. He chose to come in the most humble form, a baby. We see His earthly life and ministry revealed on the pages of scripture.

“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53: 2- 3 NIV)

Even though this world didn’t accept Him, His great love for us crossed every imaginable boundary; social, political, racial.  He served all; the outcasts, the homeless, the poor, the sick. He was blameless, spotless, and sinless; yet He chose to take on the sins of the world – your sin, my sin - so we could be delivered once and for all from the power of sin.

“All things were made by him, and nothing was made without him. In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.” (John 1: 3- 5 NCV)

The God of the universe, maker of heaven and earth, sustainer of all life desires a close and personal relationship with each and every one of us. So much so, He made a way for everyone who believes in Him to be with Him forever. It is only through Him that we experience abundant life and will live forever in His eternal kingdom.

Just think about it...God wants a relationship with me. It just blows my mind sometimes. He loves me completely and unconditionally. He sees me at my absolute worst and still accepts me as I am. Loving me so much, He doesn’t want me to stay the way I am. He wants me to be more like Jesus. So, Jesus walked this earth not just to show me how to live and love others, but to die a horrendous death on the cross so I could experience freedom In Him. He wants the exact same thing for you too.

Do you know anyone who would sacrifice their own son just for you?  God did. He loves us that much. Believe it....it's true...truly the only unconditional love you will ever experience.

How is your relationship with Christ? Do you spend time everyday getting to know Him by reading the pages of His word and praying? Do you rely on Him in every area of your life? Are you learning and growing in Him?

Does real and unconditional love exist?

Isaiah 54:20 (NCV) “The mountains may disappear, and the hills may come to an end, but my love will never disappear; my promise of peace will not come to an end,” says the Lord who shows mercy to you.

I awoke this morning with the words of David Crowder’s song, “He Love Us,” playing in my head (see the verse and chorus at the end of this post). What a great way for me to start my day…even at 3:30 am. Not sure why God had me up at 3:30 this morning other than to spend some alone time with me and tell me He loves me. I so needed to hear those words from Him this morning – yes even when it’s the middle of the night to some. J

Think about it…the God of the universe…who put the stars in the sky, woke me up to say “I love you.” Truthfully, He loves you that much too. Do you believe it? It’s the truth…His word, the Bible, displays His love for us over and over throughout its chapters. I have included a few passages in Scripture to reference. When you’re feeling unloved by everyone, God loves you…today, tomorrow and in the future…without reservation, without condition, and without a doubt.

Psalm 136:1 (NCV) Give thanks to the Lord because he is good. His love continues forever.

Ephesians 3:18 (NCV) And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is.

The ultimate display of God’s love for us is found in the next three scripture passages:

Romans 5:8 (NCV) But God shows his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

1 John 4:10 (NCV) This is what real love is: It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us. He sent his Son to die in our place to take away our sins.

John 3:16 – 18 (MSG) “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

Partial lyrics to David Crowder’s song:

He Loves Us

We are His portion and He is our prize

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes

If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking

Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest

I don't have time to maintain these regrets

When I think about, the way...

That He loves us

Oh how He loves us

Oh how He loves us

Oh how He loves

Rules or Relationship?

Galatians 3:11

(v11) Now it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law, because the Scriptures say, "Those who are right with God will live by faith." (NCV)

(v11) But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” (NLT)

As chapter 3 of Galatians begins, Paul is boldly standing up to the Galatians calling them foolish and asking them who had bewitched them. Many of the believers in Galatia had been in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and received the Holy Spirit yet, they were still trying to earn God’s approval by obeying the Jewish laws. “How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?” (v.3–4 NLT)

Ok, Ouch! I think about how many times I’ve felt like I wasn’t good enough for God to love. As a result of this way of thinking, I nearly ran myself into the ground trying to keep doing good works and following the “law” perfectly so that He would “approve” of me. Being the approval junkie that I once was, I struggled with this one when I first came to Christ as an adult. You see, I was never really taught about the relational side of Jesus. I was taught to always obey the “golden rule”. As I began to grow into my teens and college years I drifted away from Christ and by early adulthood I had “lost touch” with Him completely.

It was only when I gave my life to Christ in my mid-thirty’s I understood that God doesn’t expect me to follow the law perfectly to earn his acceptance. God loves me [period]. He wants a relationship with me more than anything. All I had to do was recognize that I was a sinner and confess those sins.

Secondly, I had to believe that Jesus paid the penalty for my sins on the cross so that I could spend eternity with him. My debt has been paid; I am free from the bondage of sin! To help me through this new life, God gave me the Holy Spirit to live inside me and be my teacher and my counselor. He will guide me in all things. He will provide for me, protect me, and correct me. The Holy Spirit living inside me is all I need to live a life of faith. I don’t need to obey laws perfectly for entry into heaven. I just have to “walk by faith” trusting God each step of the way.

Related scripture: Hebrews 11:1, Habakkuk 2:4, 1 Timothy 2:5