“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
There are people in the world today who would gladly give their life for the sake of a loved one. A spouse, a child, or someone they love deeply. It is one thing to speak of such things but quite another when it happens.
Could anyone say that it was a nice gesture but not necessarily a sign of love?
Christ did not die for us to fulfill some contractual obligation. Nor because when He became a man on earth, His plans went awry.
Christ did not die just to rescue Moses, King David, Peter, James and John or any other of the giants of the Bible, our salvation is not some fluke or loophole in the propitiatory death of Christ.
We are not saved because when Christ’s train came in to pick up these great men we jumped underneath a car and are now hanging on for dear life riding the rails to heaven.
We all believe we deserve such indignity because we know ourselves, what filthy, rebellious individuals we are. Well guess what? The people inside the railroad coaches all felt the same way we do. So what are you doing under here?
What is the difference between these great Christians and us? I believe it is simply that they accepted the fact that God loved them and they in turn came to love Him more and more.
When the prodigal son returned to his father, it was in complete humiliation and shame. He came back with only a hope of becoming the father’s servant. Nevertheless, what was the response? Mark this well.
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” Luke 15:22-24.
And so is the lowliest sinner who comes to God treated.
Step back and look at the entire picture now. If it is God’s intention to have you as His son or daughter; if He gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for your sake because He loves you; if Christ willingly endured the cross for the joy set before Him; if He died not just for the great men of the Bible, but everyone.
What keeps you from accepting the wonderful gift of companionship and love of God?
Perhaps you feel that it is not real or available at least in this world. How is that for an interesting thought? God’s love simply is not available to us until we get to heaven. Does that make sense?
This is the real physical world and heaven is a spiritual world. The reason that makes sense is that godless men and godless, so-called theologians have created a physical world and heaven, which do not exist. They have manufactured a world without God.
God is not portrayed as He really is when mentioned in the media. And beyond that, He is not mentioned at all.
A person’s faith in God has become a very private matter. And in fact, you might even lose your job if you offend someone by being too open in your beliefs.
Miracles do not happen today. Ask any liberal theologian. They will also tell you that the Bible is nothing more than a compilation of myths, stories, and parables. A great fish could never have swallowed Jonah (Jonah 1:17) nor was there a worldwide flood as recorded in Genesis 6-9.
“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Jonah 1:17.
The truthfulness of this passage is confirmed by Jesus Himself.
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:40.
The worldview or mindset of the modern world has been molded this way not by true Biblical standards but by godless men who speak with great authority about things, which they know nothing about. The book of Jude shows this quite plainly.
“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:4.
“These are murmurers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.” Jude 1:16.
Notice the description of their methods, crept in, ungodly men, flattering, great swelling words, always creeping in and taking the unwary and the simple away to hell with them.
These ungodly men have crept in so slowly and taken positions of authority so quietly over the centuries (Jude was written in 70 or 80 A.D.) that they have been able to change the mind-set of the world and this nation from one of a Christian viewpoint to one of a godless despotic nation. Listen to Jude again.
“These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves; they are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” Jude 1:12-13.
“The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear, which will not heed the voice of charmers, charming ever so skillfully.” Psalm 58:3-5.
The wicked are not obvious from the womb but as they become adults you will know them by their works.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” Matthew 7:15-16.
As a result of the teachings of these wolves in sheep’s clothing we go through life lonely and afraid because we have been taught that God is up there, we are down here, and the phone is off the hook.
That is okay though because someday we may be in heaven floating on a cloud and playing a harp as we look lovingly at a cold austere God who is very busy running things.
He sounds a bit like a parent you could never please does He not? You love them dearly and do your best to get A’s and B’s but nothing seems to work. You are still just a child that cannot merit their favor.
Do you know whom you are trying to please when you work so hard to make God love you? You are trying to please the Devil!
He creeps in like these ungodly men and he tells you that you are not fit for God’s presence. If you want God to love you, you must try a little harder. You must stretch a little farther.
Always a little more, maybe God’s love is just around the corner. Just keep trying you will make it.
So many Christians are in misery all their lives because they cannot quite reach the mark. Many just give up out of sheer frustration. The Devil has made his goal.
We fight all our lives for something we already have, the love of God.
God is infinite; He loves you and me with an infinite love. It is impossible for Him to love us more than He already does. He tells us this in the Scriptures; His Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts.
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [payment] for our sins.” 1 John 4:9.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7.
“…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19.
God wants us to accept that fact and love Him back rather than spend our lives trying to earn or merit what we already have.
If it is true that God is trying to stop our struggling and have us accept His love and the natural relationship that goes with it, why do we not hear Him?
The answer is simple; the Devil’s lie makes more sense.
“Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 3:5.
The Love of God, Part 2 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 12-31-18, updated on 5-5-21.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.