For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son--John 3:16
I few years ago I went on a retreat with the youth leaders of my church. Shortly after we arrived something happened that had an increasing effect on me for several days following. During a time of worship, we were singing, "I'm so in love with you in everything are and everything you do" to God. Then the leader instructed us to sing: "He's so in love me..." As we did several of us began to cry as the revelation of God telling us He loved us hit us right between the eyes. Its one thing to mentally assent and even know that God loves me, but to have God in a sense sing to me, "I'm so in love with you..." really rocked me. Think of it, God the Father doing something as "real" as "earthy" as singing a love song to you or me.
Then, for several days after that I would be driving, listening to worship music (and attempting to sing), when suddenly I would hear God in my spirit begin to flip flop a song from me singing worship to Him to Him singing of His love to me (or us).
I was listening to the modern worship song "Breathe". That song really stirs me up anyway, but when I began to hear it as God singing, "I am the air you breathe, I'm so desperate for you, I'm lost without you", I just simply lost it. I know that probably shakes up some of you to think of God having a feeling of desperation or loss, but put yourself in the place of a loving father who is separated from his children and would do anything to have His children restored to Him. There are those who consider me to be intense or passionate, but I could never compare to the intensity and passionate love God showed for us just in planning to send His Son to take our place. I'm not saying that what God did in sending Jesus was an act of reactionary desperation, but rather it was proactive.
He knew we would "break His heart". Yet, the potential of losing our fellowship (which was why we were created in the first place) caused such a deep hunger or deep desperation in the heart of the Father that He and His Son devised the plan by which we could be restored to fellowship with Him.
According to II Corinthians 8:9 He was so desperate for us that Jesus laid down the riches of heaven and was made poor (in coming here by comparison to heaven) so that we could be made rich.
Eph. 2:6 New Living Translation.
"For He raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated
with Him in heavenly realms -- all because we are one with Christ Jesus."
Sometimes I think we overlook how awesome God's great love for us is. I know we overlook the shear brutality of what Jesus took for us so that we could be made one with Him in heavenly places. For Jesus to be beaten to the point where His internal organs were not just visible but even essentially hanging out. To endure the great shame of being hung naked in front of a group of hostile spectators voluntarily shows a love so deep, so wide, so high, and so absolutely incomprehensible that only God, who is love, could carry it out.
Are you getting this?
Can you fathom God singing, "I'm so in love with you...for everything you are, in everything you do...I'm so in love with you" to you? I couldn't, until a couple years ago. I know the thought of God loving you in everything you are and do is difficult to handle for the typical Christian. I'm not saying that because of Jesus, God condones everything you say and do, nor am I saying that we have a license to sin. I'm simply saying that if you are a blood-washed, blood-bought, truly born-again believer and you should somehow fail and blow it, God doesn't see your sin, He sees the blood of Jesus. He sees you as one with Christ Jesus. He sees you as righteous because of the blood of His Son. Repentance from sin for the believer is more for your freedom from condemnation than for forgiveness of sin. Condemnation is the enemy's greatest tool against believers.
Get Ready For An
Important point!
I used to believe that sin separated us from God, and because condemnation is so powerful, it does. However, I examined the Word and examined life, I now see that I was looking at it from the wrong angle. I thought (and had been taught) that God could not fellowship with us if there was sin in our life, that it blocked us from His presence, and in a sense that's true. What I didn't understand is that God's not the "blocker". We are, by simply accepting that lie of Satan called condemnation! That is why if you are "in Christ" there is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION!
I think that is one of Paul's main points in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians. He was confronting the wrong teaching of righteousness by works that had infiltrated the church of his day. The church had traded the true gospel message of love, grace and righteousness by faith for a worthless counterfeit.
Let me make a rather strong statement:
Salvation or righteousness by works rather than by grace through faith is nothing less than Humanism.
That's why legalism has no place in Christianity, because it turns Christianity into Humanism. I don't think there is a believer alive that would appreciate being told our "religion" was humanistic, but it becomes humanistic every time we attempt to earn our salvation. I'm not preaching a gospel of ease, "sloppy agape", or whatever you want to call it. Just the opposite
A true revelation of the nature of God and what Jesus did for you just because He loves you, that's what will keep you from trampling on His precious grace. |
