03/08/2020
Is there anything of yourself that out of love you have given to, or for, another? Is there anything you consider so valuable, or so dear to you, that you wouldn’t consider parting with? We often think that the most precious possession we have is our life, but is that true? Jesus gave up His life for us, and for the love He felt for God. He valued these two so completely that His life was considered less, and thus, at His Father’s request, He gave it in horrific fashion to redeem mankind... even for those who would wound Him. He loved, and He loved something He considered more precious than His own life.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 ESVQ
Jesus spoke to us about laying down our lives and how there was nothing greater, but He didn’t say nothing greater than dedication, obedience, or out of necessity, He said these words...
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
John 15:13-14 ESV
Jesus went to the cross out of love, and that demonstrated that the will of God, and the souls of mankind, were of greater value to Him than His own life. Is there anything in our lives that we value, or love, this much?
A tornado recently devastated parts of Tennessee, and took the lives of many people. I heard the story of a man who lost his wife and son to that storm, and in its aftermath he was seen going through the rubble of what once was their home, looking desperately for two toy figures that he and his son would play together with. It broke my heart to envision this father as he searched for those toys... something that would bring his son back to him, even if just in memory. I knew without a second thought that this man would have given his own life for his family... his love for them was that great; it was his most valuable possession, and even now, beyond their deaths, it remained alive...
God loves us this way. He loved Adam and Eve, and when they were separated from Him by their sin He would not rest until He found a way of reuniting them, and us, with Himself. Jesus became God’s way, and He too loves us with that same divine intensity. We think of the love of God for us when reading this scripture....
“"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
But we find the love of Jesus for us when, while preparing for the passion, He said these words...
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.”
John 15:9-10 ESV
And one of the commandments Jesus left to us, and was referring to, was this...
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
John 13:34 ESV
So read again my two opening questions today...
“Is there anything of yourself that out of love you have given to, or for, another? Is there anything you consider so valuable, or to dear to you, that you wouldn’t consider parting with?“
Now search yourself, and determine how completely you love, and what it is that you love in this way. You might find that you love others as we are commanded to do, and that you give of yourself each day to your family, or you might be disappointed to find that you either love something unworthy like money, or perhaps you don’t love anything other than yourself... or at all.
If the love in your life falls short of Jesus’ commandment, then it is time to look at His life, His love, and the death He endured on the cross for you, and ask yourself if He is worthy of your love in return. Experiencing the love of God, and Jesus Christ, is the first step in loving them, and mending what is broken inside you; that thing that stands in the way of your being able to love as you should... of loving something more than your sad and empty life; something worth going to your own personal cross for. Are you ready to be loved in a way you have never experienced? Are you ready to be transformed into a loving person?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for loving us, and loving us so completely that you would send your Son Jesus Christ to redeem us, and reconcile us with you. Thank you Holy Father for creating us as loving creatures who in this way can love you in return, and do so more perfectly than we can even love ourselves. Help us when we are broken, and unable to love others. Circumcise our hearts so that love can find fertile ground there, and grow as it leads us to form a covenant between Yourself and us. Open our eyes Lord so that we can see the lesson of true love in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves us in a divine fashion which is beyond our ability to fathom. Great are you Lord who sent his Son to suffer and die for us... even those of us who spat on your Son, and brutally put Him to death. Your love is complete, and so overwhelming, that it conquers sin, and death. Praised be your name Father for the love that is your most valuable possession. Perfect is your love. Hear us now as we weep in the midst of our own love. We weep in our love for Jesus, for those among us that we love. We weep bitterly Father for those who choose to love only themselves, and we pray that you will instill in them a new ability to love others... by learning first to love you, and Jesus Christ.
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV
Rich Forbes