Love Actually

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Food For Thought: Is that the height and depth and breadth of love or what!

God loved me even when I was deep in sin, unconcerned about having any kind of relationship with him, and in fact, living in complete disregard for his law if not outright hostility toward him. And yet he still loved me, and proved that love by sending his sinless, one and only Son to die such a horrible death on the cross to pay the price that I owed for my sin. What is love? That is love!!!

If you ever begin to doubt God’s love for you, just go back to the cross and picture those nail-pierced hands and feet, the crown of thorns on his brow, the stripes on his back, and the wound in his side; imagine the humiliation, imagine the hatred spewed out against him, imagine the unbearable weight of One who knew no sin becoming sin by taking on your sin and mine, and that of the whole world; see those outstretched arms nailed to that old rugged tree…imagine those arms outstretched and hear him say, “How much do I love you? I love you this much!”

Is that the height and depth and breadth of love or what!

But don’t stop there. Imagine all of that, and then remember that he still did that even when you didn’t care, when your willful determination to sin was what put him there, when you were living in open hostility and rebellious hatred toward him—and he did it anyway. Imagine he did all that—even knowing the possibility that you would never come to your senses and bow at the foot of that cross in repentant gratitude, and he died for you anyway.

Is that the height and depth and breadth of love, or what!

I don’t know about you, but I will never get over that. And I have a feeling that one of my roles in eternity will be to travel the ever-expanding outer bands of the universes beyond our universe telling redemption’s story to a creation teaming with unredeemed yet un-fallen life. For if a creature has never fallen, how can they know such love—the love of One who willingly sacrificed his life for another living in hatred and hostility toward him? I imagine that’s what Paul had in mind when he said God’s creatures long to look in and understand such matters—they who have never sinned have never known redeeming love.

Someone has said that evangelism is the only purpose of God for us redeemed humans that won’t continue in eternity—and that may be true. But telling the Good News of God’s redeeming love as one who has experienced it first hand—I think my job of witnessing has just begun.

“But God commended his love for me in that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me.”

Is that the height and depth and breadth of love or what!

Prayer: Lord, I fall on my knees in humble and repentant gratitude at the thought of your redeeming love. I cannot fully grasp the love of One who would die to redeem one such as I who was hostile and hateful toward you. I am undone by your love, and from here to eternity I will sing this wondrous story of the Savior’s love for me! I am loved, and that’s all that matters.

One more thing… “Who falls for love of God shall rise a star.” —Ben Johnson