He Did It All For Love
Jesus laid aside His glory and paid an enormous price, so He could make us priceless and fill us with His love.
For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his uniquely conceived Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it! So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in him. John 3:16-18 (The Passion Translation, Simmons)
Christmas: It’s a bit like the Cinderella story in reverse.
Jesus the Christ, second member of the trinity; uncreated, self-existent, eternal, almighty God, living in unapproachable splendor and glory. Yet He unclothed Himself of all that majesty and was born into a tiny, frail human body. He gladly agreed to take on flesh with its limitations and weaknesses. To be bound by time and place. To be hungry; to be thirsty; to be tired. Knowing, ultimately, that He would be shamed, beaten and tortured before He died for our sins. What must all that have seemed like to One who was immortal, all-knowing and ever-present, living in a place where everything was power and glory, majesty and splendor?
How could He have done it?
And why?
It was all for love.
Because of the Lord’s incredible love for you and me, to Him it seemed a small price to pay. Yet there was nothing cheap or easy about what Jesus did. He risked everything to purchase our freedom. Once we understand that, it gives inestimable grace, value and dignity to the least of us. And what a wonderful thing! God doesn’t merely love “the world” in general. He loves you. He loves me. For Him it’s very personal, the way He knows and loves each one of us.
He did all that to bring us eternal life, not just when we die, but now! “Eternal life,” Jesus said to His Father, “means to know and experience you as the only true God, and to know and experience Jesus Christ, as the Son whom you have sent.” (John 17:3, TPT)
This is a deep mystery. We cannot fully understand it, but we can experience it. We can encounter the Presence of God, right here and now. He means for our lives to be filled with love, peace and joy that transcend our present circumstances, because of the way we know Him. Can you hear His call? There’s no condemnation, only rescue. He’s inviting you to come deeper and deeper into His glorious love.
John 14:25-27, Hebrews 12:1-3, Philippians 2:1-11
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I could never, ever do for myself what You have done for me. Thank you! I accept Your sacrifice on my behalf and I receive Your love. Teach me how to experience eternal life right here and now, more and more, as I live connected to Your Presence. Amen.
