The Love of God

The Love of God

‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoseoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ John 3:16.  

Let us take a deep look into this verse.  Can you imagine someone taking a punch in the face so that you can live a life free of sickness?  Can you imagine someone being kicked in the back of the head so that no weapon formed against you shall prosper?  What about someone having a nail, most likely the size of railroad ties, driven through their wrist so that you may have peace both on the Earth and throughout eternity?

I want you to imagine yourself being this person.  Think about how much you would have to love a person to take this sort of torture for them.  Oh, do not forget that you know for several years leading up to the day of torture what is going to happened.  In addition, you have every opportunity to back out.

Obviously, I am referring to the life of Jesus and his purpose here on Earth.  In Matthew 26:39, Jesus prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:”  He is asking that he not endure what is coming because he knows how horrible it is going to be.  But then the second part of the prayer is “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”  Despite the knowledge that he has, he will go through with his calling because it is the will of God.  This not only speaks to the love that Jesus has for the world, but it also speaks to the love and trust that he has for God.

In Matthew 4 Jesus was tempted by Satan to not go through with the calling that God had put on his life.  In verse 9, Satan offered Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world.  So, at that very point in history, Jesus made a choice to resist the wiles of the devil and to accept the calling of Jesus.  The world should be thankful that He chose the unselfish path.

Now that you have attempted to relate to Jesus, take it one step further.  Try to imagine the position of God.  Send your only son into a place that will not accept him.  Into a place where he will be ridiculed, persecuted, and eventually tortured and murdered.  Then, he is going to be sent to hell for three days so that the very people that murdered him can have a way to avoid hell.  In addition, throughout time, people attempt to deny that this incredible sacrifice even happened.  Despite knowing all of this, God sent Jesus to the Earth knowing the he would be tempted by Satan, knowing that he would request an alternative, and knowing that there would still be those that rejected Him.

Think about how much God loved us to put His Son through that.  Think about the words of John 3:16 and how true the love of God really is.  Think of how much love God must have for each and every one of us that he will accept us into His Kingdom just for accepting Jesus into our hearts.  He is not asking for us to endure anything close to the sacrifices of His Son.  Instead, He is offering us everlasting life, health, security, and peace.  All of these things were taken from His Son so that we may have them.  The love that God must have for us to do what he did is a love that I want and need a revelation of.  If God will offer up his own son as a sacrifice for my sins so that I may live without lack, without sickness, and without the curse, what would God not do for me?  

Once we get a revelation of the depth of God’s love, we will understand that he has already provided everything we need.  Once we understand this, nothing else will matter except God’s will being done on Earth, and once we are focused on His will, we will stop asking Him for worldly things and start asking what He would have us do for His Kingdom.