My intention is not to ruin your day, but there is something that you need to be aware of. Fear not, you are still loved, that will never end for the born-again believer, the love of Christ for His church will never cease, but you must understand this, it is the only love you will ever know. You may say your spouse, your children, in fact you may point out that there in fact are many that say they love you, but comparatively speaking they cannot hold a candle, as they say, to the love that our Lord has for you.
You may have known someone who died for someone else, perhaps threw them out of the way of the oncoming bus, perhaps an individual in the armed forces who threw himself into the line of fire, dying in the place of many, and as honorable as that may have seemed, it is nothing compared to what Jesus Christ did for you. This person may have died for another, and what did the ones left alive receive from it, at best a few more adventures in life, perhaps even a family raised, but no matter the reason, all they got was a little more time, a few more years at best before they too were laid in the grave.
What you were saved from, what that love did for you on the cross kept all who will believe and trust in His name out of the eternal fires of damnation, pain incomparable, hopelessness beyond comprehension. This love was not temporary, it is eternal, those who accept it will never again know condemnation, (Romans 8:1) they will never know hopelessness or fear, this love will never end. No one you know, no one you have ever met can give anyone this type of love, completely and totally sacrificial, asking nothing in return but to believe that it was love that was the reason He did what He did. Think on what Almighty God said to Moses, “Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” (Exo. 32:10) Look at the words of Jesus, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:40) Love is what kept the Lord from killing Adam and Eve, from destroying Satan at the first sign of rebellion, love put Noah and his family in the Ark, (Gen. 6:18) pulled Lot out of Sodom, love said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
Why not just get rid of all of us and start over, why put up with all these self-centered, prideful people, why not just zap us all out of existence and forget the whole good and evil business. Love. Love gives your creation a soul, love give them free will, the ability to choose for themselves one of two paths, love forces virtue on no one. The very pinnacle of love was shown on the cross, “I love you so much I am not going to destroy all of you, I am going to let you live like you want to live, I am going to tell you of the consequences of your actions and let you make up your own mind.”
The price of not accepting this love is the loss of it, the cost is higher than any man should be willing to pay, but even after they are warned by those He has sent, even after some have come to the knowledge of the truth, (1 Tim. 2:4) they will still deny Him, love for these is not enough. It is estimated that there have been, including those alive now on this planet, nearly one hundred billion people, think of the amount of sin in just your own life, and then multiply it by that number, think on the love necessary to pay for all that sin, then think on the One that paid that price. That is what love is, that is who love is. The finest words perhaps ever spoken were said by the One hanging in pain beyond compare on a cross, “Father, forgive them.” Those words should change everything about you.
